"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. " -Helen Keller

Friday, August 26, 2011

Hell In A Handbasket part 2

As I briefly told you early, early this morning, my Thursday night went to hell in a handbasket. When Marty got home from school yesterday, he had some homework from his Honors Geometry class. Like all classes, the first unit is all about reviewing last years info which means he had Algebra homework. Now, what y'all have to understand is that Algebra is the bane of Marty's existence just like it was the bane of my existence when I was in middle school. The minute Marty has trouble with an Algebra problem, he gets frantic and becomes convinced he can't do it...just like I did back in the day. So, his homework was taking way too long, dinner wasn't getting cooked, and he was getting more and more frantic. Finally, dinner had to be had so I took Gabe and Joey with me to get pizza while Marty took a break from his Geometry homework and did his creative writing homework.

We got home with the pizza and the boys attacked the pizza. Little Gabey out ate both his big brothers that night...6 slices to Marty's 5 and Joey's 4 1/2. Once everyone was sated, Marty and I sat back down at the table to finish the work. We hadn't been there even 5 minutes when I heard a loud thump and Gabe started to wail. I looked over and Gabe was standing in the corner by the TV with his hand over his chin. Joey told me Gabe leaned forward off the ottoman to pick up something he dropped and he slipped and pitched chin first into te entertainment center. I called him over to comfort him and, once he was calmed down a bit, I asked him to let me check it out. I gently moved his hand back and the blood started flowing. It wasn't dripping. It was like someone had turned on a faucet. I yelled for one of the older boys to bring me a rag and slapped it over his chin and put pressure on it. When I thought the cut was just on the outside, I was prepared to hold pressure until the bleeding stopped and put some butterfly bandages on to hold it shut. But, as I'm holding Gabe and holding pressure, I noticed there was a fair amount of blood in the mouth too. So, I took a peek in without removing the pressure from the outer sore and can see a cut bleeding freely. My fear at that point was that his teeth had punctured his lip. That was it. I decided I had to take Gabe in. I couldn't look up the info I needed so I called Vic at work and asked him to check if any of the Urgent Care centers were still open. As I was talking to Vic, Gabe figured out I was going to take him to the doctor and he started wailing louder and louder. Despite the fact that it was only about 7, none of them were accepting any more patients for the night and that meant an ER trip for us. After I got off the phone with Vic, I had to calm down a frantic 5 yr old. Ever since Gabe had his back to school physicals, he has been quite vocal about how much he hates shots and never, ever wants to have another one. The pain of the injury plus the exhaustion from the first day of school plus the fear of needles made him almost inconsolable but we managed a brief state of calm. That calm was shattered once I got up and started moving him toward the door and the van. Gabe started fighting me tooth and nail and I knew there was no way to get Gabe to the hospital by myself while maintaining pressure on his cut. While I tried to calm (again) the wailing, screaming, and crying Gabe, Joey called Vic and told him I needed him to help us get to the ER. Gabe completely wore himself out and while we were waiting for Vic, Gabe fell asleep leaning back on my chest. He actually started snoring.

When Vic got home, Gabe woke up and started fretting again. His little power nap helped though and I was able to get him to listen. I promised him that the doctors would find the best and easiest way they could to take care of him. I told him that if we were lucky that the doctors might be able to glue his cut shut but I couldn't promise that. Well, the idea of gluing the cut shut must have sunk in. When we got to the ER, Gabe told the triage nurse he wanted it glued shut while she was checking and putting gauze over the gash.
He announced to the nurse who took us to a room that he was going to ask the doctor for no stitches, just glue and he perked up a little when she mentioned a popsicle when we were done.
Then, he asked the nurse and doctor assigned to him for glue, not stitches. All of the asking must have helped. Well, that and a little luck helped since the teeth cut deeply inside the mouth (but not all the way through) and the entertainment center cut deep outside the mouth (but not all the way through). This all meant they were able to glue the gash shut.
Gabe was a happy camper when they told him no shots or stitches but he still questioned them about anything that looked like it might be a syringe with a needle attached. Then he took a moment to show off his hospital bracelets.
I think it amused them a little bit. They also laughed a bit when Gabe made sure to remind them that he needed a popsicle when they were done taking care of him.
We got home from the ER between 10:30 and 10:45 and the younger two boys were in bed by a little after 11 pm. My night wasn't done though. I still had to help Marty with his math homework. The enforced break from math homework cause by Gabe's drama did have one benefit. Marty was no longer worked up and that meant he was actually able to understand the work and figure out what needed to be done. Even with that advantage, we still didn't get done with his work until well after midnight. I got a grand total of 4 hours of sleep last night and I am feeling it today.