We had quite a scare on Sunday evening!! Finley was standing on a stool helping me with dinner when I opened the dishwasher to quickly grab some clean plates. In the blink of an eye he had turned on the stool to help and ended up falling onto the cutlery tray. I caught his arm as he fell but he was crying pretty hard. When I noticed a couple of rips in his shirt I tore it off to find two pretty bad wounds. I quickly applied pressure while Mike gathered the kids into the van and drove us to the hospital down the road.
I wasn't about to leave his side, even though carrying him with my huge belly was super awkward. They put some numbing cream and gauze on his chest and I figured we'd be leaving with stitches. After waiting close to two hours (most of which he slept through) we finally got to see the doctor. He sent us for x-rays just to make sure there wasn't any unseen damage. Finley screamed through the whole thing and sniffled the whole way back to our little hospital room. The x-ray tech forgot to take the guaze off, and the doctor wanted a better look because he saw something he didn't like. Finley screamed through the second set of x-rays and I stood in the hall in tears.
After looking at the x-rays the doctor decided to transfer us via ambulance to the Calgary Children's Hospital for a potential CT scan. They put an IV in his poor little hand and administered antibiotics on the ride in. Both of us had missed dinner and the poor little guy was put on a fast in case something more serious needed to be taken care of. It was a first ambulance ride for both of us! He was such a trooper.
The paramedic who rode with me in the back told me how overwhelmed parents can get when they arrive at the Children's hospital and get bombarded with people. It was certainly something I won't soon forget. I stood close to his bedside while the paramedic shouted out his name, gender, and what happened. At the same time two doctors were near his head calling out vitals and attaching all of these cords. The team leader was at the foot of the bed organizing everyone and in the midst of all the noise I was introduced to about five different people. They took another set of x-rays while he wimpered on his bed and I stood in the hall. A sweet nurse asked if I needed anything and brought me some apple juice to keep me going. They pulled a chair up by the side of the bed for me to sit while they did a quick ultrasound to check for fluid around his heart. It was determined that they would go ahead with the CT scan just to make sure all was well and the poor little guy got another IV in his other arm for the coloring to be injected. I held my head close to his and hummed a favorite song in his ear to help calm his cries.
We were blessed with friends down the street who were willing to sit with our sleeping kids until my sister could arrive, so that Mike could meet me at the hospital. He arrived just in time to accompany Finley for the CT scan. I wasn't able to go in because of being pregnant and all, and they would have had to sedate him if Mike hadn't arrived when he did. While I waited in the hall I heard him cry for me and prayed hard that he would settle and be still enough to get it all done without being sedated. Prayers were definitely answered and he lied calmly with his Daddy holding his hands and whispering in his ears.
After his CT scan he perked up quite a bit and started babbling and talking to everyone. They all thought he was the sweetest little patient and couldn't believe how still he was for a toddler. They gave him a nice big teddy to keep him company while we waited on results! It turns out the middle cut hit his sternum, thankfully missing a major artery and the second stopped just short of going into the chest cavity. Gah! It was so scary! It could have been SO much worse than it was and we definitely counted our blessings! Cleaning the wound was almost worse than getting the IV and the doctor decided to give him the tape kind of stitches instead of the other kind. Once he was all cleaned up they took off all his crazy cords and let us take him home. We got back shortly after midnight with very hungry bellies and grateful hearts.
I am so thankful for great healthcare and an awesome hospital like the Children's Hospital. It was my first time ever being there, and it was impressive. They were so quick and good and kind. Finley smiled and chatted with every nurse he met and it was a wonderful experience. Today he is playing around like nothing ever happened and I can't help but sigh in relief every time I look at him.
