The Laceration *Warning!*: Some Photos Contain Blood

Yesterday while I was frantically trying to grab everything I needed before leaving the house to go visit friends, Evan was manically running around the living room.

And then it happened.

I heard a loud THUD but the thud reverberated with a hint of head on brick followed by a huge wail from Evan. I turned just in time to see Evan picking himself up from the edge of the fireplace. I ran to him and scooped him up and just let him cry while I carried him back to the kitchen, not realizing that he had a gaping flesh wound. Which is exaggerating quite a bit with creative license. I just tried soothing him enough to calm down until I noticed blood dripping down his face and onto me, and then I thought, "Oh man, what happened?".

I also thought I should take a picture of my bloodstained sweatshirt for memories sake.

My poor baby had quite a laceration.

I ran him out to the car immediately and my neighbor Mark noticed my panic and came running over to see if everything was okay. He took a look at Evan and  thought he should be fine (men!), but he went and got his wife Jaque to take a look and she and I decided I should take him to an Emergicare for my own sanity and peace of mind. 

I remained calm because Evan actually quieted down. He whimpered a tiny bit and I remembered he might have a smidge of pain so I ran inside to get him a dose of Motrin, he took it and we were on our way.

I didn't hear a peep from Evan until we got there.

Thankfully the Emergicare wasn't booming with business but it still took a lifetime of waiting in the lobby. I read a book to Evan while he sat on my lap but he was very lethargic which concerned me. 

Please take a minute to look away from the wound and gaze at my nicely manicured pinky nail. Thanks.

Then I got up with him to get a few more papers that needed signed and he puked all over me and the lobby. This got him entered in to see the doctor immediately so I gave him a high five in my mind.

The doctor asked Evan questions which he wouldn't answer, shined a light in his eyes and he continuously slumped into my lap acting very tired which concerned the nurse enough to make the decision to send us to the hospital for a CT scan. 

I cried.

A nurse came and put a butterfly bandage on his cut, gave us directions to the hospital, and what we were to do when we got there because the outpatient office was technically closed and I would have to knock and so forth.

Note to self, even if you have someone repeat directions to you 100 times in a traumatic situation, have them write.them.down.

We left and headed toward the hospital which managed to be the wrong hospital on the North end of town -a 20 minute drive out of our way. Evan slept and the doctor said not to let him sleep but make sure he was alert and able to answer questions. I managed to drive stressfully, yelling at Evan every 5 minutes and turn his favorite song up to decibels only a teenagers uses, but he still wanted to sleep.

We got to the correct hospital and got Even registered for the CT scan.

A nice lady gave the boys coloring books and temporary tattoos while I filled out the paperwork. Dawson gave me his tattoo.

After more waiting than any gaping wound toddler should have to endure, we were finally brought to the scan room where I was given instructions that I had to make sure Evan kept his head still for the pictures. This is no.small.task. I would have rather been assigned the duty of holding down a raging drugged prisoner. Which I totally think is an adequate analogy. Evan was scared of the "doughnut" as he named it immediately, but I pulled up "The Axel Show" on my phone which he watches daily and tried my hardest to keep him calm so that they could get the pictures they needed in one scan.

In the meantime many people were praying for Evan, not to mention me. The panicked prayers of a mother reach heaven much quicker than the prayers of a person seeking nice weather. Just my own opinion. I looked for that in the Bible but couldn't find a verse to back me up. 
Waiting on the results of the scan, thinking he could have a fractured skull or internal bleeding was rather excruciating and I asked if I could have an epidural. The kind nurse gave me a cup of ice water which was the next best thing. Evan and Dawson were given orange juice, and I managed to buy them each a Kit-Kat bar at a concession stand at one point. Poor Dawson hadn't eaten anything since lunch, because we were going to have dinner at our friend's house before we were rudely interrupted by a gaping flesh wound. The results of the scan came back negative. 

Evan was clear of any fractures or internal bleeding.

Thank.You.Jesus.

Really. I thanked Him nearly 1,023 times which was cut short by the barrage of information I was receiving about what we needed to do in order to get him stitches. We might have to go to a different children's hospital etc...

It turned out that we were able to stay at the hospital and go to the "Fast Track" section to get the stitches. I was so grateful because I didn't want to end up in North Dakota on my way to another location.
A few things one of the doctor's told me which other mom's might find helpful if you are ever in this situation:

1. A child is typically allowed "one free puke" after a head wound occurs. Continuous vomiting is a symptom of internal bleeding and/or a fracture.
2. Disorientation, confusion, unable to answer questions correctly and especially lethargy and falling in and out of sleep are also signs of serious head trauma and should be checked out.
3. I asked if Evan was allowed to sleep in his own bed, in his own room, because I was so concerned with the questions I was asked about seizures etc... and the doctor said once Evan was cleared based on the CT scan, he was fine to sleep without supervision. Specifically -that he wouldn't die in his sleep (which he pointed out was my real fear and he was correct). 

Evan had to have some numbing cream put on his forehead, and take some medicine to relax him enough to stay still for the stitches. He thought the new bandage he was sporting was rather awesome, and the nurse told him he was like superman. 

Everyone was consistently remarking how good he was being. He really was. He remained cheerful and like his normal self, even while receiving medicine. 
My sweet buddy. 
I also want to give a shout out to Dawson who managed to remain calm and so very helpful the entire time. He grabbed my purse and Evan's bag each time I nearly forgot them at every stop we made. He never complained even though he was exhausted and starving, AND 2 nurses told me I have such cute kids, and I reminded them to have another look at their mother. 

Finally, 5 hours after our trip to Emergicare, Evan got his stitches. I had to leave the room because I cannot endure other people's pain. I'm pretty sure that's why I decided to never be a nurse. Well, that and cleaning up after people is a full time job at home.

The cleaning of the wound and stitches only took about 15 minutes. I thought, hmm, we could have been done and at my friends house enjoying mozzarella sticks if the puking lethargy hadn't gotten in the way. The doctor and both nurses who took care of Evan for the stitches told me that they had all commented that even out of the adults who have gotten stitches, Evan was one of their best patients.

4 stitches later, we were home and in bed by midnight. 

Now I'm taxed with keeping Evan's stitches clean and clear of infection and he can get them out at our pediatrician's office in 5 days.

Whew.

In the meantime, I have gone to great lengths to further toddler proof of our home.