Stitches

We had a couple of stores to go to, so I dropped Nate and Allie at Home Depot while Caitlyn, Kayla, and I ran to JoAnns. Then I took Kayla to a birthday party at the swimming pool in Tooele. I was driving back towards Home Depot trying to get a hold of Nate to find out if I had time to get gas or if they were ready. He didn't answer. A few minutes later he called back and said I needed to come take Allie to the hospital.

Fortunately I was almost there. Apparently Nate started to move some sheet metal for duct work in the basement. He stopped pulling it out so he could adjust the cart. Allie, not even being bouncy, walked between Nate and the sheet metal. She started crying and grabbing her right ear. When she moved her hand to show Nate, it was covered in blood.

They hurried to the front for some tissues. After figuring out it was bad, Nate called me. I picked them up and we went to the hospital which was only minutes away.

Allie grew more scared and her crying got louder. At one point she asked, "Will I still be alive?" Poor thing. Allie was quite concerned about the blood on her shirt. We assured her it didn't matter.

Blood pressure and oxygen monitoring made Allie all the more nervous. She was trying so hard to be brave. Instead of tears, at times we were getting uncontrollable anxious giggling. It was so cute and sad to see.

Here is a look at the wound once it started to clot over.

The nurse, who is actually a PA at the girls' doctor's office, was really good with Allie. He brought her this cute little bear, and he fixed Shiver's ear just like Allie's.

Allie was very nervous, but once they finally got the topical numbing cream on, it helped. She felt so much better, she asked if she could just have a bandaid and go home. Allie was kind enough to share her bed with Caitlyn for a few minutes.

Knowing Allie and her fear of shots, I quietly warned the nurse when we first arrived. They were very good at never saying the words and being quite sneaky with the needle. Only once Allie was in a headlock on Daddy's lap and had 2 other men and the doctor holding her down did the needle appear. I would have liked to warn her, but I've learned the anticipation is much worse. She kicked and screamed for all she was worth. Tears poured down both Allie and Mommy's faces. We were all glad when it was over.

Another hour later, they finally stitched her up. It took 7 stitches, and they discovered the cartilage had been nicked. We need to be extra careful to watch for infection. Allie cannot take a bath or swim for 7 days. She thought that was pretty funny until I told her she could still shower. We spend about 4 1/2 hours in the ER. We're grateful to the Garcia's for picking Kayla up from her party and taking her home for the next 3 hours until we finished.

We're so thankful our Allie is okay. She says she's still "experiencing" quite a bit of pain, but she is back to having fun. This evening she told us what a good day it was, and Allie said she is so lucky. We were baffled after everything that happened. Allie said she's lucky because she got a bear, a squirt gun (the syringe used to irrigate the wound), and cookies at the hospital. What an optimistic little girl. Too bad we all can't be like that.

Tonight we had to keep reminding Allie to not bounce, twirl, squeeze between chairs... She just doesn't like to hold still. Honestly, we're quite impressed that she made it 5 1/2 years before needing stitches. Hopefully we can go another 5 1/2 years without having to go back to the ER. Monday Allie has to go to an Ear Nose and Throat specialist to get checked out, but that should be the last appointment. The stitches used will dissolve so we don't have to torture her by removing them later. Thank goodness.