First trip to the ER

By the grace of God we have never had to take any of our kids (or ourselves) to the ER.  That is, until last night.  We were just about to put the kids to bed and through a series of unfortunate events that involved T and M, T rolled off of Z's bed awkwardly and slammed the back of her head on a part of a wooden bedside stand. 

She sat with Ryan for a few minutes and was completely herself, other than crying from hitting her head very hard.  I then asked to see her head to make sure the swelling wasn't too bad.  Much to my and Ryan's surprise we found a head covered in blood.  Z hollered out in grief (I'm pretty sure he thought she was dying, seriously).  I calmly took her to the bathroom.  Ryan and I did a bit of cleaning and knew that although we didn't mind if she had a scare on the back of her head, she needed to have this wound closed up.

So, with the temperatures near zero and her and I in PJ's we headed out. T asked in the car why she must to go to the hospital and I explained that her head opened up a bit too much when she fell so a doctor needed to fix it.  Realizing how open it was, she asked, "What does the inside of my body look like?"  I told her to ask the doctor. In the ER room I told her what I saw inside and the doctor gave names to some of the tissues.

After a very thorough cleaning I saw just how deep it was and felt justified in putting the poor girl through the hospital ordeal (I know many don't see eye to eye on this, but I just don't head to the doctor unless it is crystal clear to me that their help is needed). The wound was at least an inch long, about half an inch gaping open and over half an inch deep.  The doctor suggested three staples without anesthesia.  Yes, I gave her the same astonished look you just made.  She explained that it would be less painful than the numbing shot route.  I finally took her word for it.

T sat on my lap while they stapled her head three times and never made a peep.  After the room was clear she then let some tears roll and told me it hurt really bad.  I should think so!  She was a champ and received a very soft teddy bear after her ordeal.

T woke up Z this morning to tell him she was OK. But he couldn't really stand to see her head; I'm not sure if he was going to cry or pass out, but he was not alright with the sight of staples in his sister's head!  Apparently, after Ryan got T and I on our way last night he went upstairs to put the rest of the kids to bed and talk with Z to calm him down.  Ryan suggested they pray for her and Z responded, "I already did, twice!".  He really is such an awesome brother!

The pain seems to have subsided quite a bit now but sleeping is very uncomfortable for her.  She also seems a bit emotionally worn out.  Praise God she did not sustain any more serious injuries!

In case you are curious, scroll down for the wound picture.  But don't if you are squeamish about such things. 

You can't say I didn't warn you....