So, we went for our family bike ride today.  After we ride, we stop at the playground.  Today Doug and I were going to take turns going for a short ride on our own while the other watched the kids.  I went first.  I had a fun little ride, and was gone about 15 minutes. 

On my way back, I faintly heard a child crying and thought, “That sounds like Zevan.”  But I was still nearly a 1/4 mile from the park.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, I see him on a bench howling, and Doug is in front of him holding Zevan’s chin in his hands.

I hopped off my bike, and scooped him into my arms to take a look.  A nice big gash/hole that makes me feel slightly faint – and it looked like it would require stitches.  Doug is understandably bummed.  He keeps blaming himself, and I tell him it was just an accident.

Turns out he was on the zip line type thing and fell off and banged his chin on the steps of the playground equipment.  Zevan insists it was because Zander was pulling on his legs. 

I pushed the skin together and it looked like it was a really decent split.  But the pieces fit together and I want to hold them together, but can’t do that and carry him at the same time.

So I sent Doug & Zander to the van with one set of bikes, and ask him to retrieve the first aid kit.  When he comes back, he says he couldn’t find it.  So I asked him to run over to the pavilion where some people were having a picnic to see if someone has a bandaid or something.  This whole time Zevan is still howling.  Poor guy.

He found a guy that had a first aid kit in his car and went to go get it.   We call my parents and find out that my mom is working today.  If she was off, I would have taken Zevan to her first to determine if we need stitches (she’s an RN).

The guy comes back with the first aid kit.  I’m hoping for butterfly closures.  No luck.  So we take three small bandaids across the wound as if they were butterflies, then a big one across those three to hold it together.  Okay.  Now we can go to the emergency room.  I thank the first aid kit guy profusely, and we all walk the other 2 bikes back to the van.  We’re off to the ER at Penrose Main.  I call my mom and tell her we’re on the way.

Zevan is much calmer with the bandaids on.  Doug and Zander drop us off and leave to get us lunch at the nearby BK.  Zevan and I check in.  Then we go to the bathroom to clean up as best we can.  My mom arrives to see what’s going on.  Just as Doug returns, we are called back to get his vitals checked.  My mom gives me her extension and tells me to call her later.  After his vitals are checked, we then come back to the waiting room to eat with Doug and Zander.  Then we’re called back again.  I tell Doug to go ahead and go home and I’ll call him when we’re ready.  I’ve never spent less than 3 hours in an ER.     I don’t want to do it with Zander bored out of his mind.

Now we wait in our little room.  And a doctor arrives fairly quickly.     He says sutures.  I say, “Really?”  He says we could try superglue (dermabond).  I say, “Let’s try that.”

A few minutes later a resident/nurse comes by to put numbing solution on his chin. 

I try to digest that, and cuddle Zevan close to me on the gurney.  I rub his forehead and hum to him and he falls asleep.  I try to convince myself that he would stay asleep through stitches.  Yeah right.

I move him down and lay him on the gurney while I call my mom and Doug to give them updates.  Then I get back and cuddle with him.

Then the resident/nurse comes by and says she talked it over with the doctor, and that Zevan would likely need sutures.  Crap.

Zevan wakes up a bit later and I check to see if he’s really numb by pressing on his gauze.  he says it hurts when I press on it.  I run to get the resident/nurse and say that he feels his chin!  She comes back over and takes off the bandages and checks him.  And it seems like he’s pretty numb.    She explains that the doctor is going to come back and clean his wound and then put it together.  Zevan stares at her.  Then she mentions, he’s going to use string to put it together.  He continues to stare at her.  I’m just glad she doesn’t use the word stitches.

I distract him for a while with his new Neopet from his BK meal.  That was a good distraction. 

After a long while, the doctor finally comes.   We talk more and he says we can try the super glue.  And he tries.  Zevan squirms and says, “No, no, no, no” as the doctor tries to get the skin together to do it, but there’s too much tension and the superglue won’t work.  Sutures it is.  Crap.   

We swaddle Zevan in the blanket and move him down to the end of the gurney so I can put my hands on his face and talk to him.  The doctor asks him if he likes blue.  Because the thread is going to be blue.  Zevan doesn’t answer him.  It happens to be his favorite color, so I say that blue is fine.  When the doctor cleans the wound, Zevan says it hurts!  I start to panic inside.  But then he starts the stitches and Zevan doesn’t say it hurts.  He moans a bit, but doesn’t say a word.  I talk to him about video games and stroke his face while he gets stitched.  A couple of times he got wide eyed and whined, but I was able to calm him/distract him.  3 stitches to go and he finally says, “I want to go home now.”  We all assure him that we’re almost done.  And then we are.

I get instructions for cleaning and antibacterial ointment.  I call Doug and tell him to pick us up.  My mom comes down again to check on us.  He tells her, “It didn’t even really hurt.  I was just really scared.”      We tell him how brave he is, and how it’s okay to be scared sometimes.    She takes him up to her floor while I wait for the discharge paperwork.

And finally, 2 1/2 hours after we arrived, we’re heading home.   Zevan is playing Yoshi’s Story and seems none the worse for wear.  I feel kind of numb and tired.

That was my fun afternoon.