In the blink of an eye

Saturday was a major cleaning day at our house ... the kids really wanted to help and dusting was something they enjoy doing and the three of them can do it easily. Sam decided to help his sisters dust the mantel and stood on top of an old radio cabinet we use to hold games that sits between the couch and fireplace. The radio cabinet is a favorite climbing spot for him. He likes to climb on top of it and jump either onto the ottoman, or couch, or place treasures on the mantel for safe keeping.

He reached out too far on the mantel, lost his footing and fell 25" to the floor. GR saw this from about 15" feet away... it wasn't until he had picked him up and taken a step or two that we saw the gash dripping blood down his face. With Sam screaming, I took him, GR ran for toilet paper and I grabbed the nearest dish towel. Sam couldn't stand the towel being pressed to the side of his face, but without it blood kept running down his cheek. After 60 second of negotiation it was determined that he would allow the towel if he got a sucker. A sucker was located, friends up the street were called to watch the girls and within minutes we were in the car on our way to the ER ...

I have come to learn that parents in this kind of situation tend to take on opposing roles ... one assumes the panic, tense, racing mode and the other, assumes the calm "it's going to be okay" and collected "you need shoes on" and "remember our Insurance is for this ER not that one." Additionally, it seems the parent who witnesses the accident/situation takes on the panic mode, and the one who arrives on the scene assumes the calm/collected mode. In serious situations, both reactions are necessary. For this emergency, GR assumed the panic/speed role (so he drove) and I assumed the calm, collected mode (held Sam on my lap in the car).

Half way to the ER (15 minutes) Sam's bleeding stopped, his crying stopped, and he decided the towel was no longer necessary - sucker still in its wrapper and clutched in his hand.

The ER visit was so much faster than any ER visit we've had locally! We were in and out with 8 stitches in an hour or less on a Saturday afternoon! Our local ER visits are a minimum of 2 hours and typically 3-4 and those were for minor things like dislocated elbows.



He's doing really well now. His left eye lid is a little swollen, and he has a purple bruise that looks like a fine marker line in the crease of his eye lid, but his stitches are looking great and thanks to some Batman and Spiderman Band-Aids, we're able to keep it clean and covered during the day.

We go back to the ER on Thursday to get the stitches out. We've had a few visitors since Saturday morning, and when they ask Sam about the Band-Aid on his head, he takes them by the hand and shows them where he fell and tells them all about it.

Hopefully this will slow him down from climbing on and jumping off the radio cabinet!