Friday, November 9, 2012

A Trip to the ER

This little man decided that he wanted to see where his mommy worked. So he climbed where his mommy and daddy told him was a "No-No" behind the couch, and fell into the brick fireplace ledge. I saw him just before he fell, and before I could grab him, he tripped and I waited for that earth shattering scream... and boy was it earth shattering...
I scrambled to pick him up and blood was gushing from his head. I totally saw this coming. I knew that brick ledge was going to cause problems, and that's why we went to great efforts to block it off so Mr Ty wouldn't crack his head open. He is obviously way too smart for us. :)
Thank goodness for my job in the ER though. All that work has finally paid off, and I can put it to good use! I calmly assessed the laceration to see if it needed sutures (Which it did), controlled the bleeding with a pressure bandage, and calmed the boy down.
I decided at this point it was probably a good idea to change out of my PJ's before going into work to see all my co-workers. I've always dreaded the thought of being in an actual emergency and looking like crap, or getting in a car accident and not having clean underwear etc. and having to go into work and have my good friends see me at my worst.. I know it sounds silly, but it's a real fear of mine! So I'll be honest... I may have put on deodorant, and brushed my teeth before rushing in. His bleeding was controlled after all? Don't get me wrong though, I still looked like I had just climbed out of bed. (It was early morning). 
Anyways, lucky for me I am blessed to have the best co-workers and Dr friends in the world! Ty was super excited to see all the new cool things in the ER, and he loved all the attention he got! I may have brought the whole bag of goldfish crackers, and while waiting for the Dr, I might have let Ty eat almost the whole bag. Seriously though, this kid was shoving his face, possibly overdosing on the Goldfish. I figured it was ok though, I'm well rehearsed in the protocol for overdose patients... and I'm pretty sure we were in the right place if something went wrong. Nothing like an injured child to make his mommy spoil him rotten. Seriously though, I felt SO bad!
I didn't want him to be sedated, so we used a topical numbing, and I just held him down while the Dr. Sutured. It was probably pretty traumatizing for him to have his mom hold him down while he was getting sutured. He was hysterical, and kept looking at me like "Why?" I have held down lots of other peoples kids in the ER and I'll admit, sometimes it makes me a little emotional because I feel so bad for them. I always thought that if I was the parent, that I would get emotional too, and not want to watch. I surprised myself by staying totally calm, not even a little bit emotional! I should get a sticker or something. :)
5 stitches later, I have one good looking boy with stitches just above his left eyebrow. He was a little mad at me afterwards, and cried for another 10 min or so. But now he's a happy camper, and doesn't even realize he has stitches on his head. 




Ty man waiting to get sutured up. This is his "Gangsta" Face
Ty getting super sleepy. I love that he sucks his thumb, so cute!
Overdosing on the Gold fish

The little stinker hours after the ordeal, with his new stitches in his eyebrow!