A Stitch in Time

Bella, in the dentist's chair, for the x-rays.

I received a page while at work on Monday, around lunch. I didn't recognize the number and it made me nervous to return the call. I waited a minute before picking up the phone, then dialed the number.

Michelle, Bella's school director, answered the phone. Initially, I was relieved to hear a friendly voice, then it struck me that she was paging me...and there's only one reason she would page me.

She tells me that she just got off the phone with Charles and that he's on his way to the school. What? Why? Is Bella ok?

Michelle: Bella fell on the playground and hit her face. It's pretty messy, she was bleeding a lot from her mouth and her nose...but it's slowing...she's starting to calm down now...we've given her popsicles and we tried to put ice on her face, but she's not tolerating it very well.

What? Huh? Is she ok?

Michelle goes on: Well, with you and Charles being the experts in health care, I just called Charles so he could take a look at her and decide what to do.

I couldn't get off the phone fast enough to call Charles.

Me: Charles. What happened? He tries to calm me... You call me the instant you see her. I'm heading into a meeting, but page me the instant you see her.

Nervously sit through first twenty minutes of meeting. Pager goes off.

Charles: We're headed your way.
Me: What? Huh? Why?
Charles: She looks pretty bad, but she's having a popsicle now. Bleeding's stopped. I just want to make sure she doesn't have a broken nose. I'm glad you weren't there to see her initially - it was pretty bad.
Me: Oh.my.goodness. Page me the second you are here.

Another half hour goes by before they arrived.

I met them in the ER and my heart just about broke in half. I'm pretty sure I heard it tear into a million pieces. The left side of her face was puffy and swollen, blood was oozing from her mouth and nose. She looked like Rocky after a fight....

I'll spare you all of the details of the painful exams by various folks, the sound of Bella screaming, the look of horror on her face as we held her down, hearing her cry "I don't want to" from twenty feet down the hall... I completely get why we always ask the parents to leave... I completely get the neurotic parent that we nurses roll our eyes at... I get it. My compassion meter went through the roof.

They ended up "attempting" to stitch up the lacerations under her top lip. It was horrible. I actually left because I knew I wouldn't be able to let it happen. They bundled her up so she was completely restrained. Charles stayed with her. I came back too soon and I could hear her screaming from down the hallway.

Needless to say, she didn't handle it well, there was too much blood, she didn't sit still (obviously) and Charles put a stop to it all. They got one stitch in and we decided to take her home and monitor it ourselves.

She passed out afterward, we packed her up, and went home. I picked up a soft/liquid diet for her of popsicles, apple sauce, yogurt, pudding and I made jello. I also picked up Toy Story 2.

It was quite honestly the hardest four hours of my parenting life thus far. Without a doubt.

Today is Thursday. The swelling has improved somewhat, but the bruising persists. Her lip is back to normal though there are a couple of abrasions.

We follow up on Monday. I'm anxious to see what she remembers of it all and how she'll handle being back in the dentist chair.

And now I want to put my child in a bubble. I hate that I can't always protect her. It's the worst feeling.