Chase's 1st Stitches

We were just getting done with Chase practicing on his dirt bike. Eric was standing on one side of the yard and I was on the other end. Chase caught on really quickly. He was doing a super job getting going and then letting of the gas and braking. He then started to try doing a turn. He almost made the circle, but he didn’t give it enough gas. So then we told him to make one more run and we could go in and make dinner. I had the video camera taping him and was following his progress. As he is getting closer to where he needs to stop, he wasn’t stopping. I yelled out for him to hit his brakes, but it was too late. He ran into the neighbor’s tree.

I went running and got him on his back. Blood was all over his face, so it was hard to tell where it was coming from. A branch had punctured his forward right about his right eye brow. I had my hand over his wound trying to limit the bleeding. Eric was running towards me and I told him we needed to get to the ER. He scooped up Chase and I got Anthony and we ran to the car. I had to run inside to get shoes, snacks and diaper bag. The boys hadn’t had dinner yet. It was 5:45pm.

We went to Mercy’s ER, since they have a pediatric ER. The whole way to the hospital Chase is asking to go home. He didn’t want to go, and he didn’t want stitches. So we said, you don’t have to have them, we just want you checked out. He was doing good, until they called his name. Then he started crying again. Mercy got us into a room within 20 minutes, which was great, because they were packed.

An admitting person came in to gather info and then the nurse came in to talk to Chase. He wanted to know what happened. They showed him pictures of a face and wanted to know which one described him. Then they ask the question, “Do you feel safe at home?” Chase immediately said yes, which was a relief. He did just get hurt and he was blaming me for the accident. He said I should have stopped him. If I had not been taping, I might have had a chance.

The doctor came in and examined him. She said the cut was too deep. They would have to stitch it, rather than glue it. It is great how they can do things now. The have this clear, odorless and painless solution to use to numb the wound. The nurse put it on a cotton ball and then bandages it on him. He had to keep it on for 45 minutes. During that time they took him to get an x-ray of his nose. They thought he may have broken it. The Child Life Specialist comes in and shows Chase how x-rays work and what to expect, so he would be scared. When it was time to stitch him up, they showed him the string and needle and how it would work.

The nurse asked if I wanted them to give Chase an anesthetic to help with the surgery. I asked what it is and how it worked. They spray it up his nose. After 15 minutes it kicks in. It made Chase loopy and drunk like. He was a lot of fun to talk to once it took affect. He was slurring his words and making up stories.

When it was time for the stitches the doctor, nurse, patient care tech and child life specialist came in. The had Chase lay back and the specialist started reading to him. Chase closed his eyes, but he was awake. They kept asking him questions. They wanted to know if he had pets. He said, “No, but I would like to have a T-Rex. Then I could ride him around.” He kept making us all laugh the whole time he was getting sewn up.

The doctor ended up putting in 6 internal stitches and 6 external stitches. When she was done she had Chase sit up. He didn’t even know he had the stitches. He said, “That didn’t hurt at all. I could do that again.” I told him,” Let’s put that off for awhile.” Eric says, “You better get use to this. We have boys.”

Before we left, they gave Chase a medal, a lot of stickers and some little trinkets. They told him he was the funniest patient they had all day. He was in good spirits and ready to head home. It was a three hour stay and Anthony did a great job hanging out with us. We get his stitches out on Thursday afternoon.