Stitches Déjà vu

Can you believe that Megan split her chin again! It's been nine months since she did it the first time. In May, she was playing on top of a tiny wagon in the kitchen, and it dumped her chin first onto the linoleum. (I didn't know linoleum could do that much damage!) She got around 6 stitches. She was such a trooper. She actually slept through the stitches!

This time, she was riding on Lacie's tricycle. From what I can tell, she hit a rock or something and flipped over the handlebars--landing . . again . . . chin first. I had my back to her, so I didn't see it. All I saw was the tricycle standing on it's nose, and Megan bleeding, again. It's quite a trick to flip over a tricycle that is only a few inches from the ground and doesn't even have any pedals!

She was a trooper again. She cried like crazy when it happened, but she calmly sat through the stitches without a peep! (Steve said she cried a little when they touched the injury to put on the numbing paste, but that was it.)

Mom was the person that wasn't calm! Here's my stream of thought and action. (You really don't have to read all this. It's kind of crazy.)

I carried Megan into the house--trying to cuddle her while avoiding the blood--and called over my shoulder to Melissa to take care of Lacie (who was also outside playing). My thoughts were--What do I do? Where's the gauze? I know I'm supposed to use gauze--not paper towel. Why isn't the gauze in the kit? Why isn't Steve home? He's so much better at these things. I need to wash my hands. How do I wash my hands so that I don't get her cut dirty, and take care of her at the same time? At this point, I'm throwing things out of the first aide kit with one hand and dialing Steve's cell phone number with the other. Meanwhile, against my better judgment, I've given Megan a folded up paper towel to hold on the gaping hole in her chin, and Megan's hand and sleeve are covered in blood. No answer from Steve, so now my thoughts are, Where's Steve? Why won't he answer his phone? How do I let him know it's an emergency? Where's his work number? Found the gauze. If I take off the paper towel will it rip open the cut? No. Should I send the kids to the neighbor's and take Megan to the ER? If I'm driving, will Megan be able to keep pressure on her cut by herself? Do I just let her bleed all over while I hurry to the ER? What am I supposed to do? (I've now redialed Steve about 5 times and tried his work number.)

As I'm finally washing my hands, the house phone rings. I run to answer it because I can see that it's Steve. I frantically say something like, "Megan needs stitches again. Call my cell phone," and hang up. (I want him to call the cell because I can use it hands free.)

At this point, I notice that Megan's friend has followed us into the house, and is calmly watching. I encourage her to go outside. I finally have gauze on Megan's chin, but it is very hard to make phone calls, take care of a crying child, and answer questions of the now 3 or 4 neighbor kids in the house. Steve calls back, and all I want to know is, Should I take her to the hospital or wait for him? He can't leave right now, so should I take her to him, or take her to the hospital? Steve must think I'm totally crazy, because I am not exactly calm. We decide to wait for him to get home to look at it. He hopes he can take care of it himself with some Dermabond (glue).

Okay, so now I have Megan on my lap watching Brady Bunch (it's too late in the evening for PBS kids) while I try to keep her calm and keep pressure on her cut. At this point, I hear a rustling noise from the kitchen, which is strange because I thought we were finally alone. Megan's friend is standing on her tiptoes and digging in a box of crackers that are on the counter. I ask what she's doing, and she sweetly says, "I hungry. I having some crackers." This strikes me as terribly funny, and I calm down a little. I have her bring me the crackers, give her a handful, and send her home. The only place I could put the crackers was on the floor. Now, in comes Lacie to attack the crackers. If you have ever felt like your kids aren't listening to you, just try to get them to do something while you are in a position that you can't move. Steve came home to Lacie sitting on the fireplace with almost an entire box of crackers eaten, and Megan asleep on my lap! At this point, I was calmed down, so I'll end my crazy story. Again, Megan did fine. As for Mommy? Well, I don't exactly deserve an award for performing well in a crisis, do I?!

Ironically, not ten minutes before this happened, I thought to myself that nothing really exciting had happened lately.

*Special thanks to Steve's friend who stitched Megan up at no charge. These stitches look a lot better than her last stitches (which were not free). He did two internal, and 8 external. Hopefully, her scaring will be minimal.