this past weekend i was up at lake winnipesaukee for a girl’s weekend. three kids and three friends (here are the little people i speak of!). when kids went down for naps, we’d talk (and i took a bath in a big jacuzzi tub which felt altogether fancy since the tubs we have at home are not the luxurious bathing kind!), have wine, eat snacks, share stories. it was really relaxing and a nice break from real life. not to mention a place with spectacular views of one of my favorite places in this whole world? perfect.
saturday night, the kids all took a bath together and we got the cutest video full of giggling from our little ones. we had them all jammied up, ready for bed, and i just began to do some dishes while they ran around and played. parker was running with the biggest smile on his face. in the next room, i heard a crash and then some crying coming from my friend’s daughter and then from parker and while running around the corner my friend said, “there’s blood.” ugh, that memory still makes me cry. it was coming from a big gash on parker’s forehead. my friend explained that the kids ran into each other for a hug, and then he crashed down into the corner of a wall. to me, the cut looked enormous and so deep. i was so scared but, would you believe it when i tell you i held it together and kept my composure??? i really did. i talked to him, and held paper towels on it. since we were away from home without knowing exactly where the nearest hospital was, i asked my friend to call 911. i told her the address (having literally told myself, just the night before, that it’d be good to make a point of remembering in case there was ever an emergency while here. weird.) and she made the call.
i kept holding parker, talking to him, keeping him calm, explaining that the ambulance would come and nice people would help his boo-boo. he was totally sad, that sort of eyes filled with tears without actual crying (the kind that breaks my heart most), but was keeping calm. we got into the ambulance and he held my hand and held a moose that the emt gave him (the emt also put a bandaid on the moose’s head–so grateful for nice people in those situations). even cracking a little smile when the emt did peekaboo with the moose. he was wheeled in, in his carseat ON a stretcher which is heartbreakingly adorable. they gave me the option for sedation (which has some side effects, takes them awhile to come out of, and can give them terrors) or just some topical anesthetic which is sometimes a problem if kids flail and freak out. i opted for the second having confidence that he could handle it and that, if necessary, we could pick the second option. this boy is brave, i’ve seen it before, but i couldn’t have prepared myself to be as impressed as i was by him. they put some numbing cream on his cut, twice over 40 minutes, and then came in to do the stitches. they wrapped him in a sheet to keep his arms down, and then had him lie down. i got right on top of him, with his face a few inches from mine. he was scared but i kept talking to him, about his scooter, about gracie, about the game he played with william the day before, about how the nice doctor was going to make his boo-boo feel better. the doctor stitched him up — seven of them!! — without him so much as moving his head. this picture was taken not ten minutes afterwards (by my sweet friend, ashley, who came straight to the hospital once i’d left with the ambulance.) while he watched some daniel tiger on my phone. during all of this, i called steve and asked him to come (at first, a nurse had said sedation was the only option and that it’d be several hours till we’d be discharged) and by the time he and the kids arrived, parker was already done and all smiles. and this was like 10 pm! someone who was in the hall right outside our room said, “wow. not a peep from him.” he gave steve the tightest hug, held onto his moose, and we drove back to the house we were staying.
when we went into the house, parker went right to the “scene of the accident” and pointed to it saying, “boo-boo.” i barely slept that night, but parker slept soundly between steve and i except when we woke him at 3 am to ask him questions that he’d know the answers to making sure he was ok. the next day, he was back to normal, though i hovered more than usual and felt fairly traumatized by it. and finally, when he went down for his nap that day, i let out a cry. i’d been so scared but hadn’t really had time to cry or feel relief that he was okay until then. such a delayed emotion but i guess it can be that way.
this wasn’t my first rodeo (i’ve done the hospital three times with daredevil jordan so far!) and while i’m sure it won’t be the last, i’d love it if it were. there’s something so unnatural with being in the hospital with your child. and i know that is some people’s reality. i don’t even have words for how terrible that is, how desperate that is. when you worry about a child, it sits so heavy on your chest. no matter what you’re doing, it’s ever present. i’ve only had little glimpses. no comparison. i can’t imagine it being a reality.
in summation, parker is the bravest little man, and i could not be a prouder mama.
Robyn says
I think you were both brave!!
Lexie Loo, Lily Boo, and Dylan Too! says
Poor little Parker!
My son did that when he was a few years older…his head met the wall and resulted in stitches on his forehead.
Great job on being so brave…both of you! I hope he heals quickly!
Hayley Denker says
sounds like you BOTH did great!
liciab17 says
I agree to Hayley! It happend to my boy a couple weeks ago, I was alone with three kids, all very exicited about the amount of blood (it's a thing with these cuts on the forhead) and I didn't held it together, cried the whole time and was so ashamed afterwards, so you can be very proud of yourself too! I hope he's really fine now 🙂
bridget says
alone w/ three kids, that is really hard!! at least i had two adults there (though i wish one had been steve!!). don't be ashamed. it's all a learning experience!
liciab17 says
Thank you for kind words, Bridget.
Liz/happymommy says
I can't imagine how scary that was for you and I am so proud of you for keeping your cool right after it happened as I may have lost it but in the situation maybe I would have been able to keep my cool too (I hope I never have to find out as knock on wood we haven't been there yet). What a brave little boy is right…kids are so resilient, aren't they…it amazes me?!! My stomach got all flippy just reading this and so happy it was nothing more serious!
P.S. I think I have watched that video of P from last night on IG like 20 times now and it is still so freakin funny! That kid…well he's just a really cool kid!!
bridget says
they are so resilient. it shocks me nearly every day.
hahahaha, so glad you loved that little irreverent parker video!! we were dying with laughter. how did chocolate milk become that?!
Jesse says
sounds like you both handled it like total pros, ma. way to go.
http://semiweeklyeats.blogspot.com/2013/10/mama-uniform.html
Jenna says
bridget! this made me tear up! poor little guy 🙁 nolan is definitely a little dear devil too. my husband and i were talking about that last night. good job mama, hope he's still doing well.
jenna
mama daze blog
bridget says
daredevil boys! they make me so nervous! jordan is SO that way (parker isn't for the most part, this was just a wrong place/wrong time sort of thing!)
{annie_loo} @ The Farrar Four says
God bless his heart. And yours. I can see you on top of him talking him through it and I got big ole alligator tears in my eyes thinking about it. Easton had stitches beside his eye about a year ago…it was RATHER TRAUMATIC for us both. They STRAPPED him to a big stretcher and did the stitches. I think had they done the sheet method and me on top he'd have been better. Momma however might have fallen out. Sheesh. Having a child is hard…hard on the ole heart. I"m glad he's ok! And I'm glad you had a good cry. It's good to GET IT OUT! BIG HUGS sister! You did good!! 😉 XO
bridget says
oh man. annie, your comments are always so sweet. xoxo.
Alex Hubbard says
Such a brave little nugget! I love love that he was so strong. And you too lady! I've only been admitted to the ER once, but it still scares the bejesus out of me.
Christina @ The Murrayed Life says
Oh goodness. I'm so glad he's okay, and that you were able to keep your cool until all was well! I'm sure that helped him SO, so much. What a super brave little guy. 🙂
My 17 month old is getting his Doc Band helmet off on Thursday and I'm a tad bit worried. All he knows about falling includes having his head protected, so it's going to be a rough little ride for the first few days. I just hope it doesn't land us in the ER too!
bridget says
thinking of YOU mama. seriously. sending love.
Merry2181 says
My friend is a nurse at CHOP and, as strong as she is, says she has days where she has to just go into a toilet stall and weep. Tough stuff, little ones being hurt/sick.
bridget says
can.not.imagine.
special place in heaven for people who work at children's hospitals, i tell you what.
Katie says
Ouch! Same thing happened to my girl last summer. Thank goodness they can swaddle big kids to get the stitches in! We used Mederma once the stitches were out and the scabbing was gone and it's barely visible now.
bridget says
mederma! thank you. luckily this is such a straight cut, i think it will heal nicely. and the doc did such a good job w/ the stitches too!
KelseyB says
Wow!! What a tough little guy! And hats off to you mom for staying so calm, I am sure that had a lot to do with Parker being so brave. I hope he heals up soon 🙂
Jessica says
seriously, parker is such a rockstar! reading this kinda made my palms all sweating, i'm going to be such a nervous mess when i'm a mom!
bridget says
he was SUCH a rockstar. i mean, i cannot even describe how strong he was. it was amazing!
Gaby says
aw, it's such a normal part of childhood but so frightening when you're the parent!
Megan Davey says
oh that brings tears to my eyes just reading that. I haven't experienced this yet with my own wild boy, scares me to think of that day… You guys did great and look at that sweet boy's smile!
Megan from Chasing Davies
Pink Pamalamma says
Awww, glad he's ok!
Laura {happily ever} Parker says
Poor little babe! So glad he is okay. I would imagine that was almost more hard for you!
Bugers n' Gelato says
Poor Parker, poor you! I was reading this blog intensely when my husband surprised me and made me scream…If it made me tense I can't imagine how horrible you must have felt. Go get a massage to rub it out (even if it is the cheap mall one) they help!
bridget says
not a bad idea… 🙂
beth says
aww…brave little love~ hey I adored your photos of Boston in the fall. I haven't been to the east coast in 25 years and would love to visit in the fall again sometime. I'm from Minnesota and will say that it's pretty darned gorgeous here too right now. : )
Designwali says
wow…such a cutie & so brave…i would be way less calm!
ourvapor says
Precious Parker. Proud of you, too, Mama. I'm SUCH a woozy wimp when it comes to blood, especially with my babies. Please give my birthday buddy an extra kiss (and high-five!) from this stranger 🙂
bridget says
i will 🙂
Michelle says
So glad everything turned out ok. We live 5min from the local hospital but I still hold my breath when my little guy takes a tumble!
Alice says
So glad that Parker is ok. But yes what a brave boy!!! Hospitals/ER's are NOT fun!!
Ahn says
bravest little man there ever was. but you were the calmest mama i ever saw too.
Chelsey Markarian says
So brave!!! And so glad for you that not only you could be calm at the time… but that you released and let out the emotions after. It's gotta be done. Right? Ugh. Glad everybody is okay!!
Simone says
(Hello from Australia) Goodness, what a shock. Your post made me wonder how I'll react when my little boy has his first serious accident. Little grazes on toes and knees already make me uneasy. How brave you both were! 🙂
kristyn says
I got all choked up just reading this. But thank God he's okay. What a trooper!
Marshall says
what a tough little boy. and I'm guessing tough MAMA too. that was probably worse for you than for him!