Well yesterday I experienced what it's like when a child gets stitches. Surprisingly, my sons haven't had stitches and hopefully they never will (Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise!)
We started out our Friday evening beautifully. After dinner (which was a favorite picked out by Noah), we picked blueberries in our backyard. When we came inside, the boys got ready for bedtime snack and I got a bath set up for Avery. We let her take a nice long bubble bath (Aaron even took over bath duties towards the end of her lengthy bath so I could shower the bug spray off of me). At the end of her bath time, she got dressed into comfy pajamas and chose a snack. The boys took their turns next: Noah, then Michael.
While Michael was showering, the rest of us were in the living room. Aaron & I were just relaxing on the couch and reminding Noah & Avery periodically to settle down because it was almost bedtime. Noah came over to sit beside me and Avery continued playing. It seemed like she was just doing ballerina twirls (which she has done so many times before), but after one particular spin she slipped and we heard a crack.
Aaron & I both thought it was a typical slip, but she stood up crying so I reached my hands out and she ran to me and I could see the blood. Thankfully my children hadn't cleaned up all their napkins from snacks, and I grabbed one from the coffee table to start putting pressure on her cut right away. Aaron jumped up to grab some dishtowels. When he brought the towels to me, and we swapped out the soaked napkin for cloth, we realized this would require stitches.
Next was a whirlwind of "who do we call and what do we do?" Noah gathered up his shoes and Aaron ran to get Michael from the shower and tell him to get dressed. I held Avery in my lap with towels and kept pressure on her cut while I called my parents (who live 2 miles away). I needed someone to keep the boys so that Aaron and I could both go to the ER. It was necessary for one of us to sit next to her and keep pressure on her chin. My parents weren't home but were on their way home, so we loaded up everyone in our vehicle & started traveling towards the ER. We met my parents at a gas station on the way so that the boys could go with them. My mom is a nurse so she took a peek at Avery's chin-- confirming we'd need stitches and affirming that we took care of the wound well.
This was all around 7:20 (Avery hit the floor at 7:10).
We arrived at the ER, got to triage 15 to 20 minutes later. Periodically her chin would bleed again and it was extremely unsettling to be sitting in an ER with an actively bleeding child while covered in clothes with blood splotches. All of the "blood born pathogen" training that I have to do at the beginning of each school year was replaying in my mind. The receptionists and triage nurse knew we'd need stitches, so we'd have to wait for an actual ER room while the less serious patients would be sitting in the ER hallway.
At 9:05, we made it into a room. At 9:30 we called the nurse station to ask a nurse to come in because Avery was actively bleeding again and we hadn't been seen by a nurse yet.
Sometime after 10:00, the doctor came in to examine her. We were very impressed with the doctor & his bedside manner. He knew the characters of Frozen (Avery had on a Frozen pajama shirt) so that was a bonus! He confirmed the need for stitches instead of the adhesive strips because the wound was on her chin & he didn't want the strips to undo themselves when she talked. We didn't question his decision, although we knew it would be hard.
Around 10:15 Avery received numbing cream. I guess it might've helped take the edge off but I'm not convinced. She actively bled again after the cream was applied so they applied more but I'm not certain it helped too much.
Around 10:30, the doctor began the process. Both the nurse & the doctor warned us it would be hard. When the doctor said it, I looked at him and politely said "this isn't our first rodeo." He nodded and began preparing the lidocaine. (Aaron & I had to hold Michael down for an IV when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes...and that was just the first time. I've had to hold Michael probably two or three other times for other IVs in various hospital stays. It doesn't make it easier. I still 1,000% wish I could take their pain on myself.)
Although two nurse plus Aaron and myself were holding her, she was moving too much. We had to wrap her in a sheet and hold her again. I kept repeating over & over how good she was doing and how we were almost done. She received two stitches. When she was done she was very sad. I reminded her that we never left the room and we were so proud of how brave she was. The nurses applied glue to the area and I was able to hold her again.
After 20 minutes of letting the glue dry, we buzzed the nurses station and asked for her Bandaid and discharge papers. Surprisingly we weren't charged anything so now I get to look forward to that bill in the mail. I texted my mom to let her know we were on the way-- it was 11:10.
We picked up the boys & got home around 11:40 and tucked everyone in bed. Avery fell asleep on the ride home and slept well all night. She is pleased with her "better chin" and we can take the stitches out in 7 days. Unfortunately we can't go swimming for that time frame so I'll stay with her anytime the boys go swimming. In a week, we can have any medical professional remove the stitches or we can return to the ER triage to remove them. I'm going to pray that one of the medical professionals we know will remove them.
So that's it! I fell asleep well after midnight and any time I woke in the night or early morning, I made my rounds to check on all of my kiddos. I know the boys were so worried about their sister and I know she was so glad to be back home. It wasn't how we planned to spend our evening, but God wasn't surprised and I'm so grateful that He's always with us even when we can't form any words and can only approach through our fear & groans. He was present. He is present. And I'm so thankful.
Today, Avery is her happy self and able to tell her brothers of her "better chin with a Bandaid."
Sweet girl! Glad she is recovering well.
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