Dominic took a tumble…
Sunday, I was out grocery shopping. Chris was home beginning to install some new windows we have been dreaming of replacing. I had left Dominic less than 40 minutes prior with his Auntie Gretchen to play with his cousins Benny and Mia.
Just as I had put my last item into the cart and was heading toward the check out stand, my cell phone rang. It was Auntie Gretchen.
“Melinda, you need to come back. Dominic has been hurt. I called 9-1-1 and the paramedics are on the way… He’s going to need a plastic surgeon.” These were the words I heard from a worried, but trying to keep her self calm Auntie Gretchen. I could hear Dominic crying in the background.
Twelve minutes later, after leaving frantic messages for Chris to meet us at the ER, I pulled up to see crying Dominic draped in the arms of Gretchen. Benny and Mia stood nearby and paramedics had a concerned look on their faces. I tried to pull it together as my tears started to flow.
Stay calm– somehow I sort of managed.
I scooped Dominic into my arms and we put him into the car. Gretchen and the kids drove us to the hospital.
By now I had peered at the gaping wound about ½ inch below his eyebrows. It was about ¾ inches deep and bright red blood was trickling out…
Maintain composure. Feel sweep of absolute heat overtake me. Baby kicking – at least she’s OK. Ride to hospital…
A worried Chris was already there waiting. Same reaction, shock on his face, move away from the car. Reemerge with a composed determination to take care of his dear son.
We checked in and waited. And waited. As the next two and a half hours blurrily slipped by, Chris and I took turns trying to maintain perspective of the big picture. How lucky were we that Dominic would only need stitches, it could have been so much worse.
At the same time we couldn’t help but feel the heavy blanket of sadness settle upon us. This was our first experience of feeling helpless – unable to protect our sweet son from the inevitable pain that life will toss his way now and then.
When I asked Chris how he was feeling, he said, “I’m sad.” He always has such a clear, simple ways of summing things up.
The wait continued.
After a 45-minute nap in Chris’s arms, Dominic was ready to play. We entertained him by riding around the hospital in the wheel chair, making up our usual really bad stories about bears, cars and whatever subject requests Dominic could conjure up, and helping him dream up requests for the food or drink he craved – ice cream, French fries, orange juice, etc. (We were not allowed to let him eat or drink as they anticipated a need to sedate him for his stitches.)
After waiting hours for the people who had arrived before us, or truly had life threatening conditions, we eventually made it in to see the Doctors.
Turns out, they needed to sedate Dominic.
Dominic was his usual inquisitive self. As he lay there on the hospital gurney, with nothing but a diaper on, they applied 7 different leads with an array of colorful cords. With the application of each one, Dominic curiously and quietly watched. We counted and there were seven. I told him that one more would make him an octopus. He then asked the nurse and doctors to please put one more on so that he could be an octopus.
6 p.m. -- After Dominic was all stitched up and eventually reemerged from the fog of sedation; we finally got to head home as an exhausted but absolutely relieved and happy family. We survived the ordeal intactJ
Dominic got to have French fries for dinner… We didn’t even care that there was nothing healthy about it.
To say that we are blessed is an understatement.
As we went through the entire experience, Chris and I knew we would look back upon this incident as a drop in life’s huge ocean. We knew that it could have been a million times worse! But for that particular “moment,” it felt like we were treading water in life’s vast ocean. It just hurt.
Maybe we’ll be more laid back during our next surprise encounter with life’s inevitable challenges. Hopefully we’ll be just as lucky and he’ll only need ten simple stitches!
The accident in detail... Dominic was playing on a little toy horse that stands about two feet tall. Somehow he leaned forward and the horse toppled over. His nose hit the wall and then the brow of his nose slammed into the sharp corner of the box floor molding. What were the odds that he would hit just right? Thank God he didn’t break his nose!
No comments:
Post a Comment