Tim was out of town last week doing some continuing education in Las Vegas. He was gone from Tuesday night until Friday night. I knew it would be one-on-five, and I thought I was prepared. Wednesday morning was pretty okay. I got the two olders off to the bus stop, got Samuel out the door for his car-pool to preschool, got the other two people in the car, and was headed for the gym. All this done by 8:45. I think I might have even remained fairly calm throughout the whole process (which can be pretty hard when you have a 7 year old who literally takes 35 minutes to eat a bowl of oatmeal - of course it tastes gross. You've been sitting there for a half hour!!)
So, just as I'm pulling out of my street to head towards the gym, my cell phone rings. Hmmm. It's a Fort Collins number, but I don't recognize it. I answer it. "Hi, uh, Caroline? Hi, this is Jerry down at McGraw (the kids' school). Uhhh, well, Miles had a little, er, well, he's gonna need stitches." Apparently, Miles had run into another boy on the playground, and they both cracked their heads open. Immediate panic and opening of the floodgates of emotion. Stitches. (Quick background history: I have had stitches...okay, let me count really quick...6 different times: three times on my head, once on my lower lip, and twice on my legs.) Also, I know that some people say that he's a guy, it's cool to have scars, etc. etc. Let me explain. I have been looking at, gazing at, and adoring that perfect little face for almost 8 years now. I like it just the way it is. In fact, in my opinion, it is one of the three most adorable boys' faces I have ever seen in my entire life. I don't want to see an extra line on it. I could go on, but back to the scene.
Okay, what do I do? What do I do? Tim. Tim! Tim's out of town. How could he be gone when I need him like this? I immediately call him twice in a row (our signal for: this is an emergency. Don't you dare ignore my call. I don't care if you paid 8 grand for this seminar...hee, hee). He answers. I start bawling. He tries to calm me down. "Hon, I'll call Derek Weaver (the nicest guy in the world who lives in our ward who is a first year resident in Family Medicine at our local hospital here, who I'm sure has nothing better to do in his day (did I mention that his dear wife just had their fourth child) than field calls from hysterical mothers). He can give you a good recommendation of what to do." Sigh. Try to get myself together. Race to the school.
Bless her heart, the nurse at the school was so experienced. I literally remember her exact facial expression as she sort of "sized" me up. Hmmm, is this the type of parent who will get hysterical right here in the office if she sees this gaping wound on her son's face? Seriously, I saw her look at me just like that. And, yes, she decided that we'd just leave the gauze on until I got to the doctor's office. Good move.
We head to the doctor's office. They were great and got us in after just a 15 minute or so wait. We go back to the "treatment" room. Drum roll, please. The nurse takes off the gauze. Whoa. We're talking bad gash. It looked so bad to me. They cleaned him up. The doctor came in. She said that they could either super glue it (literally. Super glue. They used to buy the $300/tube Dermabond stuff, but it has the exact same chemical compound as Super Glue. So now, they just buy it as Sam's Club. Weird.) or send him to the plastic surgeon where they would sedate him and everything. I frantically call Tim again. Plastic surgeon or glue. Plastic surgeon or glue... If you ask me, I'd prefer the plastic surgeon, but I look around at my situation. I have a three year old and a five month old. What am I going to do with them waiting in another doctor's office? Poor Miles is already traumatized enough. Do I really want to put him through another few hours of anxiety, pain, etc.? I decide on the Super Glue. Miles did a great job of staying still. The scar should be minimal. I'm going to stockpile Mederma (apparently they now make it with sunscreen).
Here are the pics:
It's more than likely that he'll get the infamous Call Eyebrows and that the scar will be next to invisible by the time he's 21. Sigh.
6 comments:
Wow. Of course that happens when Tim is out of town ;-) John just got home last night--he had been gone since the Saturday morning the week before. 2 weekends about did it for me ;-) Actually it wasn't too bad and in spite of the fact that we had our normal 20-a-day small mishaps, we didn't have any major ones. But, we're all glad to have him home. Glad Miles is ok. He really is a very cute kid.
You are such a great writer! As I read this entry, I could hear your voice in my head. Poor Miles! I would have totally freaked out too. In fact, I was just thinking today as Clive and Van were jumping like Superman off of the guest bed, almost hitting the bookshelf, that stitches or a broken bone are almost inevitable. Sigh. I'm glad you made it through and that Miles is ok. You'll have to post a picture once he takes off the bandage. He does have a pretty darn cute face!
i am so sorry, really i don't know if that is worse for the mom or the kid. if it makes you feel any better ty's scar from his stitches is hardly visible and i have also heard that horizontal cuts heal much better than vertical ones.
I haven't had to face the stitches thing yet, but I know it's only a matter of time. Great story!!
Caroline--He does have a cute face and I remember many conversations about our boys and how they have such adorable faces, that tan beautifully with these melt your heart smiles, I would have come undone too. I am gearing up for something to happen in the next 3 weeks as David will be in NY for a Pathology rotation. Ahh the life of a married / single mother...
I'm laughing so hard! This is hilarious. Don't be mad. But I know what you're going through. I was there for all your scar mishaps (the gocart gash being the best looking) and may have caused a few?!! Anyway, the super glue thing is funny, but I don't know any mom who knows the special compound, etc. You should've gone to Med School! I know, I know, that's a whole other story. You're my idol! Cath
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