First Trip to the Emergency Room

On Saturday morning, the first words out of my mouth were, "This is going to be a great day!" Joey surprised me by telling me that he was not going to go to work, and that he was going to spend the entire day with us at home. To me, that is the greatest day. I love staying home and not having anything to do. I took an hour long bath, went to the grocery store, and started making a big breakfast so that we could all watch College Gameday together. We were so excited about Alabama's first game and had some friends coming over to cook out and watch it.

I started making pancakes on the stove, and I noticed that Andrew was right below me. He needed a diaper change, and we didn't want him to be under me when I was cooking. Joey scooped him up, and he began to cry. He has entered the "pitching a fit when he doesn't get his way" stage, so I assumed that he was just mad that he was being moved. Then, I saw blood. Apparently, his finger was gripped around the drawer that pulls out below the oven. I started to see A LOT of blood. The middle finger on his right hand had an enormous cut on it. He would not let us get a very good look at it, but I could tell that it was bad. I felt sick, sweaty, like I was going to faint, and then a panic came over me. This sounds ridicuclous, but I realized that it was up to us to make the decision as to what we were going to do. I didn't have my mom, the school nurse, or time to look anything up...sources that I normally consult. I said outloud several times, "What do we do, what do we do?" I felt so weak that I sat on the floor of my kitchen so that I would not pass out. Joey and I both decided that we would go to the emergency room.

On the car ride to the hospital, Andrew was not too fussy. He kept showing me his hand. I told him that we were going to get help and that he would be okay, but I remember wishing that he could really understand me. Once we were at the hospital, we waited FOREVER. It was the middle of the day, and we had not eaten anything. I think this added to my queasiness. I knew that Andrew would need stitches, and the dread of what he was about to go through made me physically sick. I had to step outside and get some air because I was still feeling like I was going to pass out. We finally got back to a room and waited even longer. We spent almost 4 hours at the hospital that day. Suddenly, I did not care about football at all.

The nurse asked us if we were willing to wait 30 extra minutes to put an L.E.T. solution on his hand before she gave him the shots and put the stitches on his finger. L.E.T. is a numbing solution that they do not always use. She had to call a pharmacy and get it mixed up because they do not keep it in the ER. Then, we had to tape a cotton ball soaked with the solution to his hand. We decided (without hesitation) that we were willing to wait for the solution. If your child ever needs stitches, insist on having this. It was the greatest thing.

For the stitches, they had to strap Andrew down on a table with velcro. I am ashamed to admit this, but I left the room. I would never have left him if Joey had not been there, but it was too upsetting for me. I feel like a horrible mother for abandoning him when he needed me. I went to the bathroom, locked myself in a stall, cried, and prayed for him while he was getting his stitches. The nurse came to get me and informed me that he did not cry at all while he got his stitches. Thank you, L.E.T. solution! Joey said that he just held his hand out for them and looked around the room. He was all bandaged up when I saw him and acting fine. We did have to put a sock over his bandage once we got home because he kept biting at it.
You can see his hospital bracelet in this one.

Playing legos with Dada:

It is now Wednesday, and Andrew is still doing great. My mom came up and spent the night with us on Monday so that she could stay home with him on Tuesday. Today was his first day in daycare. He now just wears a band-aid over his finger, and it seems to be healing nicely. Hopefully, the stitches will disolve by the end of the week. He has not been able to have a bath since Saturday because of the stitches. I am so thankful that he is fine. Once I got home and calmed myself down, I thought about all of the blessings from that day. Here are just a few:

**Joey was home, so I wasn't alone when it happened.

**He could have hurt a much worse place--an eye, mouth, or a head injury

**We had a smart nurse who knew about the L.E.T. solution and who cared enough to offer it to us.

**He did not have any damage to his nerves, ligaments, or tendons.

**It happened on a holiday weekend, so I had an extra day to stay home and let him heal.