Yesterday evening we experienced our
scariest moment as parents yet!! Gabriel hit his head, we think on the couch while he was trying to belly-flop. It's all upholstered but has a hard edge. There was
so much blood we couldn't even tell where it was coming from. Amazingly no blood got on the carpet. It all pooled on his eyes and in his hair as I cradled him and rushed into the kitchen. I grabbed the first thing I could (paper towels) to apply pressure until Perry could lay Georgia down and help me with him.
After several minutes I sat Gabe on the counter and lifted up the towel and saw there was a big chunk missing...
We shuttered. And realized it was so deep, he would definitely needed stitches! Poor boy was so scared and wanted me to hold him but I couldn't do that
and keep pressure on his head! Perry got Georgia and the diaper bag in the car and came back for us. He held Gabe as I climbed in the back between the car seats, never taking my hand off his head. We
sped like crazy people to the Emergency Department!! {I wore socks with flip flops and had blood on my face and Perry couldn't remember how to get there, then left the emergency flashers on when he parked}
We are praising God that:
-It happened with both of us at home.
How would one person manage loading up Georgia
with him bleeding profusely?
-Gabriel couldn't see it.
If he looks at his boo-boo (i.e. a skinned knee), he cries even harder.
-They took us right back at the E.D.
We didn't even have to wait one minute.
-It wasn't as bad as it could have been.
He didn't show any symptoms of an internal head injury
and his laceration only needed 3 stitches.
-The PA who stitched him up was really good with kids.
It wasn't the Pediatric E.D.
-His pain seemed to be short-lived in the big scheme of things.
Kids are so resilient!
As a nurse, I can handle open wounds, blood, and people in pain. But it was whole different feeling being Mommy. I was terrified and squeamish! It was hard to look at Gabe's sweet little face with a big gash in it, and even harder to see him in pain & crying out "Help me Mommy!" while they held him still.
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| Home from the hospital, snuggled under the blanket with Daddy |
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| This morning he intertwined his fingers with mine ♥ |
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| Gabriel's boo-boo must-have: Cars band-aids (trimmed to fit between his eyebrows!) |
We are SO glad he's okay now!! We will be watching movies, playing board games, and coloring a lot over the next few days. On Friday, he'll have to get his stitches taken out. He was such a brave boy, though, I think he'll be tough for that too. Needless to say, standing/jumping on the couch will no longer be allowed.
