car accident

after accomplishing some chores, i decided to take coby out for a peaceful walk and meet jay and the boys at the nearby playground.  within a few minutes, though, elijah and jonah came zooming from around the corner on their plasma cars.  they were happily surprised to see me, and i to see them return so soon.  but where were noah and jay?

they eventually emerged from around the corner too, except jay had carried noah, and our neighbor, who walked along side them, had carried the other plasma car.  uh-oh. 

jay:  noah had an accident.

neighbor:  but it wasn't jay's fault.

don't men know when they say that, we women instantly believe that it was???

apparently, noah leaned forward while riding his car, which had lost one of its front wheels.  the car tipped forward, noah fell off, then the car flipped out from under him, did two 360 degree somersaults, and whacked noah in the back of the head.  ok, the somersaults didn't happen, but the whack did.

jay turned noah around so that i could see the wound.  there was blood.  great, just great.  i was somehow crossing my fingers for a mere lump.  however, there wasn't much, and the bleeding appeared to have stopped.  still, with all the hair obstructing my view, i couldn't get a good look at the injury.  noah had a little frown on his face, but his tears were already drying up.  he seemed to feel better as soon as i took him from jay.

me:  are you okay?

noah:  mm-hmm.

me:  okay, then why don't you try to walk. 

not only did noah walk as soon as i put him down, but he jumped back onto his car and zoomed towards his brothers who were already riding ahead of us!  my eyes bulged out of their sockets, and my jaw dropped to the ground.  the kid just hit his head enough to bleed!  ... composure, composure, composure.

me:  i guess he's okay... ?

i was indecisive of whether or not i was making the statement or asking the question.

neighbor:  wow!  he's tough and brave!

i wasn't sure what to do at this point.  i needed more time to assess, so i let my sons play for ten more minutes.  jay and our neighbor didn't think there was a significant cut, though i didn't quite believe them yet.  i caught up to noah to ascertain that he remained careful as well as to look at his head more closely.  i could make out a tiny open wound but couldn't tell the severity of it.  we went inside in attempt for me to clean the area and get a better look.  the damp cloth i had in my hand wasn't necessary after all as i immediately realized beneath the bright kitchen light that noah's wound required fixing.

i called urgent care, who was much closer to us than the hospital, to see if they were equipped to handle the laceration.  they weren't and advised us to the ER.  that call saved me a trip!

noah and i were at the ER for over two hours.  i forgot to bring books and toys to keep him preoccupied but happened to have the camera in my bag.  it was a fantastic alternative to a toy, and it helped me show and explain to noah about the cut on his head.

the administrator, a couple of nurses, and the attending physician were in and out, to complete paperwork, review the accident, and provide me with an overview of the on-coming treatment.  everyone pleasantly filled in the time, and their purposeful cheerfulness helped uplift both of our spirits during our uncomfortable visit. 

a nurse cleaned his wound after we waited 20 or so minutes for the topical anesthetic to take effect.  she interrupted herself to get a bottle of distilled water to irrigate the wound.

nurse:  there's another hole that's deeper.

me:  you mean there's more than one?

i began to worry.  actually, freak out was more like it.

nurse:  no, there's just one, but a part of it is deeper than i thought.

me:  will he still be ok?  will he require more staples?

nurse:  no, he'll be fine.

i saw the laceration clearly after the nurse was done with the irrigation.  a part of it looked deep enough for the tip of noah's pinky to fit.  ouch!  ew!  oh, my baby!  ... composure, composure, composure.

shortly after, the doctor returned.  in her hand was a stapler, a mini one, like the size of the personal stapler i toted around when i was in college.  and to my surprise, she stapled noah's skin back together the way we staple paper!  and the staples looked like regular mini staples, only thicker.  unbelievable ... seriously!  unfortunately, the two staples that the doctor initially intended didn't suffice to close the injury, and four staple were applied instead.

noah was the most patient, calm, collected, and toughest person ever.  EVER.  he did not complain or cry about the wait, the head examinations, the anesthetic application, the cleaning, nor the stapling.  noah's demeanor was simply admirable and amazing.  he made the entire situation as easy as ordering a pizza.

and that's what we did.  we went home, where noah was ecstatic to see his brothers again.  then i set on the table before him a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza, his favorite.