Our First Trip to the ER

Last night, the beehives were at my house.

They were doing a service project by washing my walls and baseboard.

Bless their hearts.

Preston was in heaven with all the girls there playing with him. He was running around giggling.

That is, until he tripped and smacked his face on a kitchen chair.

Luckily I was sitting right there next to him when he fell. I immediately scooped him up and saw the blood running down his chin and neck. He lip was split open and it was obvious he was going to need stitches.

The girls grabbed a clean washcloth and I held it to his mouth while I called Dan. He was at his mother's house with Tyson.

It was then I realized he had my van with Preston's car seat in it. Preston was hysterically crying, I was trying to talk to Dan on the phone and stay calm.

Just then I heard all the girls begin singing "I Am a Child of God." Preston calmed down immediately, as it is his favorite song. He looked up at me and said,

"Mommy, I need a kiss."

I nearly started bawling, but knew I had to hold it together and stay calm.

One of the beehive leaders has a son Preston's age, and had her car with a car seat in it. She offered to drive me to the ER. I had Dan meet us there.

Preston was still calm, even happy.

He kept asking me if they were going to give him a sticker at the hospital.

We didn't spend long in the waiting room before they had us settled in a small room.

I was very thankful for this since it was full of sick people.

Preston was easy to entertain while we waited for the doctor. When we ran out of songs and games he enjoyed watching a baseball game on the TV.

When the doctor came in to examine his mouth Preston held it open wide, proudly displaying his wound. The doctor said he needed three stitches.

Right away, I began prepping Preston for what was coming.

I told him that he was going to be a Caterpillar. He was going to be wrapped in a cocoon while they fixed his owie. He thought this sounded like a grand idea and was thrilled when the cocoon was blue. He laid perfectly still as they strapped him to the papoose board.

He was not a big fan of the Litocain (sp) they put on his lip, but he held still, simply saying,

"All done. It's owie Mommy, I'm all done."

A few minutes later the doctor came in to put in the stitches.

Preston was still in a pretty good mood, especially considering he was still strapped in his cocoon.

Getting the stitches was the hardest part. I'm not sure he was totally numb yet. He cried as they stitched him up. Hearing him cry,

"It's owie Mommy. It's owie."

over and over nearly broke my heart. But I had to be calm. I tickled his toes and told him how brave he was. A few long minutes later it was all over, and he was happily hugging his daddy and eating a sucker.

He even told the doctors and nurses thank you.

It was several hours past bedtime by this point and the little guy was exhausted (we all were). His eyes were glazed over, but he wouldn't close them.

As we drove home he kept saying,

"I a bwave boy."

When I tucked him into bed he asked me to snuggle him a little longer.

I happily obliged.

(Please excuse the lack of pictures. My camera was the last thing on my mind when I left the house)