As of August 8 I am the only family member that has never had to go to the hospital for stitches/staples. All we wanted to do was find out who was the "So You Think You Can Dance" winner. Ian loves that show! Especially when any music with really heavy beats comes on. He runs in front of the TV and goes to town, "I dancin'!" Well it was late, as it usually is for us night owls during the summer, and the boys headed upstairs to "play" and just before they announced the winner..."PAUSE"...Max is screaming ...running downstairs ...holding the back of his head ...blood running down his arm. Goodness gracious! It took a while to get him calm and to stop the bleeding; but I could tell by the exposed pink spot hiding in his thick hair that we'd need to see a doctor.
Did you know that most Urgent Care clinics are not open 24/7? So we headed to the new hospital close by with an ice pack and washcloth in tow. After getting the bleeding stopped, his head cleaned up, googling urgent care clinics, calling the hospital for directions, and leaving instructions for Bryce we finally arrived at 1:00a.m.- as in the morning. The waiting room was small and only had a couple of people there so it was going to be quick, right? WRONG I guess when you're a new hospital serving a sprawling suburb, you don't need to have it fully staffed and all your beds open.
Poor Max was so nervous! The first thing he gasped when he came downstairs was, "Am I gonna die?" Once we moved on to the fact he'd probably need stitches, he was up in arms, "No way!" Then possibly staples, it was, "Are you crazy?!" The coversation on the ride there was mainly about what could happen to an open wound if left untreated. Next it was the receptionists turn. "Is it almost my turn?" Max asked. "No, they have to get some beds ready first." "Why do I need a bed?! Do I need an operation?!" The next topic of discussion was about sterile exam rooms. There was a TV in the room, but finding appropriate shows at that hour was difficult.
Finally he got triaged. The first question as the nurse was putting on his ID bracelet was, "Do I need stitches?" "Well, I don't know, I haven't looked at you yet." Max's anxiety had the machines and his vitals all over the road. Seeing the rapid pulse, the nurse asked, "Are you in a lot of pain right now?" I talked him into taking some deep breaths and when Max realized he could influence his pulse, the game was on. He practically hyperventilated trying to see how high he could get it- for fun, of course.
3:30a.m. we finally got a room. This was the quickest part. Of course, he asked anyone who walked in the room if he needed stitches until the doc finally told him he needed staples. The numbing and stapling was a little bit of an ordeal given his sensitivity to any and all stimuli. But after two quick clicks of the stapler, he was done. Whew!
4:00a.m. we arrived home and what does Max want to do? See who won "So You Think You Can Dance". Ok, there was only 2 minutes left and I was curious, too. Needless to say the night threw off our sleep cycles for the next week. But Max enjoyed showing everyone his cool staples.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Thank goodness for TiVo, Max! Sorry about the staples. I hope you make up some cool story like being clawed by a tiger or something to get those staples.
Oops! I forgot to mention that Max was hit with a rock that Ian threw. It was one of the larger rocks in Max's collection and had a very angled edge to it (like a caveman tool). It even cut some of Max's hair off! Max made me bring the "weapon" to the ER to show the doctor.
I'm sorry but this is soo funny. It's soo similar to what I went thru with Isabella last Decemeber a week or 2 before Cmas. She and Max acted the same while they were in the ER and asking everyone in sight if stitches were the only option. I'll email you that blog.
Post a Comment