So, yesterday I'm hanging out with my daughter at my mom's apartment. we have a super late lunch (like around 4pm) and Sophia (my demon monkey child) is playin around and being a five-year-old when suddenly she trips and tries to break a table with her face. No more Karate Kid for her... Anyway, she starts bleeding so bad she looks worse than the prom scene in Carrie. I start freaking out of course, this is the first time in five years she's ever gotten seriously hurt on my watch. My mom starts telling me to "Calm the fuck down, it's not that bad." Even my daughter stops crying long enough to say "I'm okay, daddy. I just have to go to the hospital."
So I get a rag, put ice in it and Sophia starts holding it to her head while I take her to the car and my mom locks up the door. "Sophia," I say, "I need you to keep pressure on where it hurts so the bleeding will stop, okay." Sophia, as calm as an injured five-year-old can be, calmer actually, says, "Okay, daddy. I'm sleepy."
"Darlin', you have to stay awake. I'm sorry, but please try to stay awake."
"okay..."
I vaguely remember the drive to the hospital (it's only 10 minutes away... I got there in 2) but I do recall pulling up to the emergency room where they have valet parking. weird, I know, but I reckon Abington is just trying to look posh. So, I get out of the car, rush around to the other side to get my daughter and the valet says, "you here for the emergency room?"
pulling my blood covered child from the car I say, "Th' Hell do you think?" And he just took over from there making sure he stayed out of the way while I ran her inside and putting her booster seat, which had fallen out of my car while I picked her up, back. I forgot to give him my keys though. hahaha. I cradle Sophia in my arms as i rush inside. I go to the window and say "Blood covered five-year-olds go where?" I didn't have to wait in line (which thankfully there wasn't one of anyways) and immediately nurses and staff were cleaning Sophia's wound, cleaning the blood off of her face and laughing as she tried to calm me down. "Daddy, I'm fine. Don't worry. I need a band-aid."
that is until she realized she may need to get a shot. Just like her, daddy... terrified of needles...
You have to understand, while most kids her age are scared of monsters Sophia isn't. Ask her what she does to monsters and she'll tell you, "I kick 'em in the nuts." But needles terrify her.
Doctor lady looks at her and says that Sophia will need three stitches. Which means big facenumbing needle.
I gave cionsent, which hospitals make you do, and I sat down with Sophia and said "Darlin'... I got bad news..."
"Am I gonna get a shot???!" Tears welling up in her eyes, "I don't want them to take my blood!!"
"Darlin', they're not gonna take your blood. hell there's enough on that rag you brought in with ya that if they needed a sample they could just ring it out. The doctor has to give you a shot so she can sew your head shut. It's only going to hurt for two seconds and then you won't feel anything. We're going to have to restrain you though, but still you have to let the doctor do her job."
"o...okay..."
So they did this thing called a "bunny-wrap" where they wrap her tight in a sheet so her arms can't flail about and then the tape her to the bed. With me holding her legs, another....nurse or doctor...some dude in scrubs (amazingly Scrubs was on the TV in the room) holding her head and the doctor and I constantly talking to Sophia she got her shot without knowing it was coming. She started wailing and I kept saying her name til she acknowledged me and i said "Can you feel anything?"
"No..."
"Then what the Hell's the problem darlin'?"
"Nothing..." then to the doctor as she was sewing my daughter up, "Don't cut my hair..."
that's my little girl right before discharge.
That's my daughter's blood on my mom's neck.
and on her shirt.
and there's my Sophia proudly wearing her blood stained dress. "Daddy, it dries like fake blood!" (no, really... she SAID that)
and that's something my kid and I saw on the car parked next to us that made us laugh.
So I get a rag, put ice in it and Sophia starts holding it to her head while I take her to the car and my mom locks up the door. "Sophia," I say, "I need you to keep pressure on where it hurts so the bleeding will stop, okay." Sophia, as calm as an injured five-year-old can be, calmer actually, says, "Okay, daddy. I'm sleepy."
"Darlin', you have to stay awake. I'm sorry, but please try to stay awake."
"okay..."
I vaguely remember the drive to the hospital (it's only 10 minutes away... I got there in 2) but I do recall pulling up to the emergency room where they have valet parking. weird, I know, but I reckon Abington is just trying to look posh. So, I get out of the car, rush around to the other side to get my daughter and the valet says, "you here for the emergency room?"
pulling my blood covered child from the car I say, "Th' Hell do you think?" And he just took over from there making sure he stayed out of the way while I ran her inside and putting her booster seat, which had fallen out of my car while I picked her up, back. I forgot to give him my keys though. hahaha. I cradle Sophia in my arms as i rush inside. I go to the window and say "Blood covered five-year-olds go where?" I didn't have to wait in line (which thankfully there wasn't one of anyways) and immediately nurses and staff were cleaning Sophia's wound, cleaning the blood off of her face and laughing as she tried to calm me down. "Daddy, I'm fine. Don't worry. I need a band-aid."
that is until she realized she may need to get a shot. Just like her, daddy... terrified of needles...
You have to understand, while most kids her age are scared of monsters Sophia isn't. Ask her what she does to monsters and she'll tell you, "I kick 'em in the nuts." But needles terrify her.
Doctor lady looks at her and says that Sophia will need three stitches. Which means big facenumbing needle.
I gave cionsent, which hospitals make you do, and I sat down with Sophia and said "Darlin'... I got bad news..."
"Am I gonna get a shot???!" Tears welling up in her eyes, "I don't want them to take my blood!!"
"Darlin', they're not gonna take your blood. hell there's enough on that rag you brought in with ya that if they needed a sample they could just ring it out. The doctor has to give you a shot so she can sew your head shut. It's only going to hurt for two seconds and then you won't feel anything. We're going to have to restrain you though, but still you have to let the doctor do her job."
"o...okay..."
So they did this thing called a "bunny-wrap" where they wrap her tight in a sheet so her arms can't flail about and then the tape her to the bed. With me holding her legs, another....nurse or doctor...some dude in scrubs (amazingly Scrubs was on the TV in the room) holding her head and the doctor and I constantly talking to Sophia she got her shot without knowing it was coming. She started wailing and I kept saying her name til she acknowledged me and i said "Can you feel anything?"
"No..."
"Then what the Hell's the problem darlin'?"
"Nothing..." then to the doctor as she was sewing my daughter up, "Don't cut my hair..."
that's my little girl right before discharge.
That's my daughter's blood on my mom's neck.
and on her shirt.
and there's my Sophia proudly wearing her blood stained dress. "Daddy, it dries like fake blood!" (no, really... she SAID that)
and that's something my kid and I saw on the car parked next to us that made us laugh.