You should see the other guy...

I have to interrupt the posts about last weeks' trip to visit Derek to share about yesterday's afternoon spent at Children's Mercy (once again).

It all started at 10ish this morning when Jackson fell on hit his face on the fireplace mantle. I didn't see the accident, but I looked as soon as I heard the thud. His poor little body was just shaking as he cried- it just hurt so bad! His eye had already turned purple in the time it took me to rush over to him.

This is right after it happened, after I was able to calm him down (Elmo DVD)

I didn't know quite what to do next. I called left a message for the nurse at Jackson's doctor office and I sent picture texts to friends and family for advice. I mean, I don't want to be the mom who takes her child to urgent care several times a year just for dramatic stories to tell. There was a general consensus that we should get it checked out, so we headed over to Children's Mercy.

A friend from church came to look after Chacey and James so I didn't have to take three kids (Debbie, you are awesome!). It took about an hour to get checked in through triage, to get a room, and to see the doctor. Jackson didn't like the doctor much at all cried, "I'm done!! I'm done!!" the entire time she just tried to look at his boo-boo. She decided stitches were necessary (though she called them something else) and she started to explain about the numbing gel that needs to set for 30 minutes and I was like, "Yeah, yeah... we've done this before. I know what's going on."

The numbing gel under the patch

Jackson was actually pretty good for being hungry, tired, and having what I can only imagine as being an awful headache. Children's Mercy is stocked with all sorts of goodies to pass the time. Jackson colored with markers and played with trains. He was having fun.

It was over an hour before the parade of staff crowded into our room- the doctor, a nurse practitioner, two RN's, and a child entertainer (I'm sure she has a more official name). And from this point on, Jackson did not have any more fun. They wrapped him up in a contraption that looks as if it were taken from a toddler psychiatry ward-- a long board that velcro-ed him in at the shoulder, mid-section, and legs. It took the two RNs to hold his head still and I held his legs. The child entertainer came with all sorts of gimmicks in her bag to distract him-- bubbles, Elmo books, flashy toys-- but nothing helped at all. He was just mad. The doctor reassured me that he wasn't in pain, that the numbing gel did it's job. It was only because of the restraint. That makes sense, but it was still awful to help hold him down and to hear his screams, even if you know it's for the better!

He ended up with three stitches. It didn't take long to settle down after they were finished, especially after one of the nurses brought in some juice, teddy grahams, and a lunchable. He's back to his normal self, though he looks like he got in one heck of a fight! Here are some pictures from this morning:

Stitches up top, black eye on bottom

He's a happy boy, back to his silly, rambunctious self!

I'm still wondering if there is a patient-rewards or frequent-flyer program for the hospital. So anyway, this was our day yesterday. I will be back tomorrow to talk about Derek's actual graduation. It was probably the coolest part of the whole weekend.