A Close Call

Friday night does not always = fun night at the Schwab House. But last night was different. I got home from work, Jeff and the kids had already eaten, so I grabbed some dinner and joined in on the fun. Dominic and Jeff were playing the WII, Emma Kate was crawling all over, getting into whatever fun stuff was lying around, and Connor was playing computer. It all started very tame...until we decided to start tossing around Emma Kate's soft rattling blocks. Connor was jumping off the ottomon trying to block it. Libby, our family dog, was chasing after it, barking. This transformed into "play with Libby time," which can get a little rough.

Jeff and I decided to get Emma Kate to bed, so we left Dominic and Connor downstairs playing with Libby, while we got Emma ready for bed. Just as I handed the bottle to Jeff I heard a scream from downstairs...followed by Dominic's voice saying, "Ohhhh, are you ok Connor?!?!"

Jeff and I looked at eachother in panic for a split second before I ran down the stairs to find Connor holding his forehead and crying while Dominic was looking for the bag of frozen veggies in the freezer. (In case you've never heard this trick...we keep a sandwhich bag of frozen mixed veggies, peas, whatever...in the freezer to act as an ice pack. It's not as cold as ice and has some give...it just forms to whatever part of the body you need it for.) A side note: if you do this, you may want to switch them out once in a while...Jeff reminded me that these may or may not have been the same veggies that were used for his vasectomy last September...oops!

Unlike my friend, Heidi, and her family, we have had our share of trips to the ER over the years.

I really try not to panic when injuries occur. When I first saw the cut right in between Connor's eyebrows, I didn't overreact. We got veggies on it right away (Dominic reacted just as a big brother should!) A few minutes later I pulled away the veggies to inspect the damage. I put my thumbs on either side of the cut and gently pulled it apart to see how bad it was. This is where some panic shot through my body! It was DEEP!!!

So I was faced with one of those Mom Decisions...to run to the ER or not...is this cut bad enough for stitches?

I did the calm-responsible-non-overreacting-mom-thing and called the advice nurse. She asked all the usual Your Kid's Not Dying Right? questions and proceeded to look for appointments in the MIC (Minor Injury Clinic.) She didn't have any appointments until 9:45am today. She also gave me the alternative of going to the ER right away...hmmmm...what to do...

Thoughts that ran through my head...

Not gushing blood.

Don't overreact.

Please God, don't let my son have a Harry Potter scar for the rest of his life!

Don't overreact.

I have to work in the morning.

Don't overreact.

She did tell me that on a facial wound, I have 24 hours to get it stitched up if necessary. So I took the morning appointment, put a bandage on it, and told him we'd check it out when he woke up. (Why can't I have the luxury of being a dad, like Jeff, and be able to say, "Whatever you think honey..." on decisions like this?!)

Clearly Connor was not traumatized...

This is my little buddy lying in bed, reading with his head-lamp on before going to sleep.

Notice the "Cars" Band-Aid right smack between the eyes! He was very excited about needing a Band-Aid!

And this morning, after another assessment, I decided that stitches would not be necessary. It still looks pretty nasty but the deep part of the cut closed up over night. Children are so resilient.

So we covered it back up with Mater this time, and off we went to start our day!

I am still wondering if I made the right decision, but this face gives me some peace!

I just pray that he is not to scarred, literally...if so, I hope that someday some lady will like his sexy scar! We have to think of a good story for him to tell to accompany it...got any ideas?