Another bad thing about having to go to the ER for stitches/staples is having to go back to the ER to get them out. Today was that day, but at least it wasn’t quite as busy as the day we were here before. Nels is now officially better.
I think he got more upset getting the staples out than he did getting them put in…but that didn’t last too long.
It was still a tiring day.
And of course, because there was pictures being taken Solvei wanted to be a part.
Today we got to spend the day in the emergency room.
This morning when Nels was playing he decided it would be a good idea to take all of the die-cast cars that were in the toy bucket and dump them all over the floor and then climb into the bucket to sit. Unfortunately when he stood up again, he lost his balance. Since the bucket is almost as tall as his waist, there was no way to step back to regain his balance and so he fell backwards…onto the cars that were all over the floor…and hit his head. I was able to stop the bleeding, after several minutes, but the cut was deep enough it looked like it needed stitches.
With our insurance, I have to call to get an appointment/referral for any kind of urgent care, but as soon as they heard where the injury was, I was told I HAD to take him to the ER. So I loaded all the kids into the car and headed to the hospital.
It’s great being deemed a non-emergency and made to wait all day long.
It would be nice if the triage nurse (in cases established as non-emergency, like ours) had the ability to give us the option of getting a referral for an urgent care clinic or waiting for the ER. If I could have, we wouldn’t have needed to wait SEVEN HOURS (with two two-year-olds stuck in a stroller without lunch or a nap) just to see the doctor.
After our whole day was shot, and Nels got two staples, he will be okay.
He is definitely all boy and the most rambunctious of my kids, because it is always him. It doesn’t seem to have phased him though, he his as happy as ever!
Not too bad to have a “first ever” on the fourth child, but I had to make a run to the ER last night.
We were hanging out in the living room after dinner, waiting for Nate to get home from work. Solvei and Nels were playing chase when Nels tried to either run away from Solvei, or just run behind the cedar chest that I have pushed towards the corner of the room, when he tripped over his own feet and fell forehead first into the corner of the wall. He got up and was dazed for a second but just rubbed his head. However, when he rubbed where he had hit, it started to bleed – a lot.
I took him to the kitchen and applied pressure with a paper towel while Saedi grabbed the first aid kit and Gavin screamed his head off. When I had successfully stopped Gavin from making the babies cry, the bleeding had mostly stopped too. I checked his eyes for sign of concussion but he seemed okay. I cleaned it and put a small band-aid on, then cleaned up the blood. Before I was done cleaning, Nels was getting up to play again -clearly not lethargic. So I looked up online to see if he might need stitches. I was still undecided when Nate walked in the door. He agreed that stitches might be warranted and since this happened at 8:30pm on a Saturday when all urgent care clinics are closed, I would be taking Nels to the ER.
I got all but Nels ready for bed before we left so Nate could eat a quick dinner. When I put Solvei to bed she was so sad. She has never gone to bed before without Nels. I think she may have thought she was in trouble.
Nels was so good. When I told him to put his coat and shoes on he got so excited. He waited patiently at the hospital, took the medicine they gave him easily, held still while they treated him and didn’t cry pretty much the whole time even though it was waaayy past his bed time (we got done just after midnight). He was all smiles when I took his picture after the doctor first looked at him.
The doctor said it was worthy of stitches, but after examination said it could probably be treated with skin glue. They numbed it, washed it,
glued it, put steri-strips on to help hold it closed while it healed, and topped it all of with a band-aid so he wouldn’t try to pick at it. This is what he looks like this morning.
So now I have earned a new “mom experience badge” and am very thankful at a time like this that we have the medical coverage we do.
wadmanclan
Wadman Clan 