A First

      A picture of Mason this afternoon. Happy as can be to be watching a special movie of his choice (The Tigger Movie) with two brand new stuffed animals, a new nifty flashlight, and gummy bears. And what is the occasion for all this special treatment on a rainy Wednesday afternoon in March?  The answer to that questions lies beneath that gigantic band aid on his head and about twenty two hours earlier.
       Yesterday night at about 6:45 found Carson at basketball practice, Mike and I cleaning up the kitchen from dinner, Elliot in his swing, and Mason and Abby running around playing happily.  Elliot started crying and I went to pick him up.  Mason dashed by and seconds later we heard him cry. He had tripped and hit his head right on the corner of our toy storage cubes.  His cry was followed closely by a piercing Abby scream and then the words, "Mason's bleeding!"  I could tell it was bad by the screaming.  Mike was closer to Mason, so got to him first.  His first words were, "It's bad."  I set Elliot down and he immediately started screaming also.  Mike carried Mason into the kitchen and all I could see was blood.  He put a cloth on his head and said, "He's going to need stitches."  He told me to get a butterfly bandage to hold it together.  I couldn't find one anywhere.  Meanwhile, Abby is nervously trying to calm down Elliot and both Mike and I are trying to remain calm.  I run to the car to get the first aid kit to get a butterfly bandage and call my neighbor to see if she can take Abby while we go the ER.  When I returned to the kitchen with the kit, Mike removed the cloth and we both panicked a little bit with all the blood.  I called 9-1-1 and minutes later we had a firetruck at our door.  My neighbor came and took Abby and I ushered in the fireman while holding Elliot.
      In the few minutes it had taken them to get to our house, the bleeding had slowed down and Mike had managed to calm Mason down.  They took a look at the cut, wrapped gauze around it with a cold pack, asked Mason and us questions and sent us down to the ER. They also shone a light in his eyes and then let him keep the flashlight. They offered an ambulance for Mason and one parent, but things had calmed down enough that we said we could drive.
      I called our basketball carpool on the way there and arranged for them to drop Carson off at our neighbors house and Mike, Mason, Elliot, and I headed to the hospital.  Mason was pretty calm and was very interested in playing with the light the firemen had given him.  We stopped at an urgent care clinic on the way there thinking there would be less of a wait, but the doctor peeked under the bandage of the cut and said it was too deep and we needed to go to the hospital.
       When we got there, we got him signed in and the nice lady said she was going to sneak us back into an open room.  We got into the room and a few minutes later the receptionist, who is a family friend, came in.  She had seen us come in and brought Mason a small white polar bear (stuffed animal #1).  The doctor came in and said they would numb the area with a topical numbing gel and then he would need about three stitches.
        A nurse came in and administered the numbing medicine.  It was really cold and Mason did not like it, but he sat on Mike's lap and closed his eyes tight and was very brave.  We then had to wait about forty minutes.  Mason was kept entertained by his light, his polar bear (which he named Ernie), and an episode of Curious George on Mike's phone.
       The doctor eventually came back in.  I held Mason's hand and Mike and I looked at each other nervously both of us avoiding looking at Mason's head and the doctor stitching it.  Mason laid there calm as can be and didn't even flinch.  He ended up leaving with five stitches and another stuffed animal given to him by the nurse who checked us out.
       We got home about 9:45, got the brave little boy some requested orange juice and tucked him into bed right in between us.  We just wanted to keep an eye on him and just wanted our little guy close (Elliot spent part of the night in bed with us also, good thing we have a king sized bed).
      Today he has been himself, just a little tired and he doesn't like the look of the stitches (hence the huge band aid).   I don't think he's minding the extra attention though.  Grandpa D. stopped by on his way home from work with gummi bears and M&M's which brings us to the present with our boy enjoying his new toys and treats.
       This is our first time having to do stitches with a child and also the first time I've ever called 9-1-1.  It definitely gave us a scare and I am just feeling extra grateful today for healthy, happy kids.  Hopefully we won't be visiting the ER anytime soon.