Owie!

Last Wednesday was a crazy day. The girls had their piano lesson right after school, by the time we got home it was late, so we went out for dinner. We returned home to hurry and get homework done before bedtime, and I sent Ben to the store to get milk. While the girls were doing their homework, Maren was sitting at the table. The next thing I know she's flying off the kitchen chair onto the tile floor. I tried to grab her, but it happened so fast. I picked her up on the bounce. I knew something was wrong when I tried to snuggle her and she stiffened up and let out the most heart wrenching cry. I looked down at her and saw blood gushing down her face. I had Addy grab a towel and tried to stop the bleeding. After taking a closer look, I knew she would need stitches. Ben returned home to two very upset sisters who were worried about Maren. We explained that she would be fine, but needed stitches. I called our doctors office and they gave us an appointment for later that night. Meanwhile, Maren had calmed down, but wouldn't let us put anything on her "owie", so there are blood stains on my couch now. After arriving at the doctors office, the nurse put on a topical numbing agent and let Maren watch a movie while waiting. She was so brave. She didn't fuss when the doctor came in and probed her wound. It turns out that it was really deep, I could see the dura (protective covering) over her skull. Maren did really good while the doctor numbed her up the rest of the way. She started crying at about the second stitch, I think she was more upset because she was being held down and had a drape over her face. Once the doctor was done, she sat right up, stopped crying and watched her movie. For several days she would walk around and point to her forehead and say, "owie". Yes kid, you certainly have an "owie". This is our first experience with one of our kids getting stitches, but they are so active, especially Maren, I'm sure it's not our last. I'm certainly grateful for my many years of medical experience, they come in handy being a mom.