Another First

Well, after I had written yesterday about the stress free summer we were having, we ended up getting a little jolt. I was at the pool with Aislin, Blaine, and our neighbor's son Ben. The kids had played for hours and I had just given the 10 minute heads up that we would be leaving soon.

Some of the bigger kids were jumping from one side of the pool at the shallow end entrance to the other. Aislin, trying to keep up did the same, except she didn't make it. She came down pretty hard with her chin hitting the cement ledge. All right at my feet. At first she wasn't crying and didn't appear to be bleeding and so I got onto her, telling her she shouldn't be jumping like that. Then she slowly took her hand away from her chin and looked at it. Covered in blood. I lifted her to look at her chin and saw she had split the skin wide open.

I tried to stay calm and not pass out at the sight of blood. I calmly told the lifeguards we needed a first aid kit. The blood was coming out pretty good so I told them we needed something to dry up the blood. One lifeguard went and got me paper towels from the bathroom while the other tried to hand me alcohol swabs. I told them, no, I needed gauze, sterile gauze. They handed me gauze. I then asked for a butterfly band-aid. I got Aislin cleaned up the best I could with the gauze then used the strip to pull her skin back together. Another mother at the pool offered to help us get packed up along with the lifeguard. Thank goodness our house is right next to the pool.

Just as we got home my phone rang. It was Anna, my neighbor. I had been watching Ben for her while she took her daughter to the pediatrician's office for a rash. I told her I needed to drop the boys with her and take Aislin in for stitches. Somehow I managed to get Aislin changed into her "painting" dress, a dress that already has irreparable stains from painting, and then got myself dressed in something I wouldn't mind ruining, just in case.

I took her to an Urgent Care a few minutes from the house. They took us back right away, took her vitals and then redressed the bandage only to tell us that we needed to go to Children's because they did not do anything on the face. Aislin had calmed down and watched a movie in the car as we drove. Luckily we were going in the opposite direction of the 5:00 pm traffic. Once at Children's they took us in right away to put some numbing cream on her chin and a new bandage. Aislin tended to get pretty upset when anything touched her face so the nurse went ahead and told me that a sedative would probably be required.

We were sent back to the waiting room. While in the waiting room I noticed a little boy Aislin's age sitting nearby and looking quite stunned. I tried not to stare, but I felt pretty sure that I knew him. I am not good with remembering faces or names, so when I do remember one it is because I have probably seen the face often and recently. After a few minutes I was fairly certain that either we had evaluated him or that he was in the preschool classroom right next to the assessment room. He was there with 3 women. I eavesdropped as best I could without staring to find out why he was there. Poor child had been attacked by a dog. His lip probably needed stitches. He really looked like he was in shock. I think I felt worse for him that I did Aislin.

Shortly we were called back for Aislin's sedative. They told me she would just seem like she had had a few margaritas and that she wouldn't remember any of it later. I was also told to hold her and not let her down because she would not be able to walk. That silly child. As soon as the nurses left she slopped over on me desperately trying to get down. For what reason? She had no idea, she just wanted down. I convinced her to lay her head back on me and watch Dora on the TV. Did I mention the sedative made her a little loopy and agitated? My inquistive child could not stop asking, and then demanding to know why, oh why, was there TWO DORAS? Then there were two Backpacks, and two Benny's! Aislin declared over and over "This is a weird TV!" As soon as the doctor came back in Aislin demanded to know, over and over again, why there were two Dora's, Benny's, and Backpacks, and kept telling the doctor that their TV was weird and that she did NOT want stitches.

The doctor was really sweet with her. He redirected her attention and talked to her throughout. In addition to the sedation Aislin was wrapped tightly in sheets with her arms by her side so that she couldn't move. She kept saying "I'm stuck." "I can't move." I had to sit while they stitched her and look in the opposite direction. We made it through and I didn't pass out. I carried Aislin out and we went home. As we passed Ben's house she told me "We need to get Blaine!" I told her that Brent had gotten Blaine already. She got very upset saying "No! Daddy can't be home! It's not time!" Like I said, she was a bit agitated and you never knew what exactly would set her off. We tried distracting her, once home, with a movie. We were told not to let her eat because she might forget to swallow. Of course, all she wanted was to eat. We comprised with a fudge pop and some yogurt.

I didn't have my camera with me during the ordeal, nor would I have really been able to take pictures, but here are a few after we got home for the night:

Brent and I took turns at home watching Aislin and trying to keep her from walking around.

She slept with us so I could check on her every hour. Not sure what she was upset about here, but she was generally agitated with the sedation. So thankful this, in the end, could be considered a minor accident, really. Had she hit the back or her head, or lost consciousness, well, I just thank God she didn't.