So we had a little drama around here the other night. I had this brilliant idea that Madison could take the dog in the shower with her so that they could both get clean together. While in there The Princess was kneeling down, rinsing the soap off the dog and she slipped and fell backwards. Her elbow came crashing down onto the drain. We laughed about it at first (her and I) not knowing there were any injuries sustained...then the pain (and blood and tears) hit. I took a look and my first thought was stitches. It wasn't very big, but it was kinda deep and wide open. I helped her get out and dry off then settled her on the bed and called The Hubster who was on his way home. He was close so I decided to wait. He took a look and we both hoped that some butterfly bandages might remedy the situation. He ran to the store, I dished out sympathy and an ice pack. Upon his return we set up shop in the kitchen and then took another look. Conclusion: The cut looked worse than at first and was right on the elbow. Yep. Right where it would stretch and twist every time Miss Madison so much as bent her arm. I looked at Matt, he looked at me and I broke the news to The Princess who promptly dissolved into a puddle of tears. You see, her last experience with stitches was not pleasant, albeit 6 yrs. ago, and the memories were coming back with a vengeance! That time she got 16 stitches inside and 12 outside and had to be put under conscious sedation up at Primary Children's. It was horrible!
Luckily this time the cut was much smaller....Anyway, by this time it was about 9:45pm and the InstaCare closes at 10:00 so I loaded my sobbing princess into the car and we made the trip in record time. When we got there they put some gel on the wound that was supposed to numb it while we waited (didn't work) and she worried herself almost to hyperventilation. I tried everything to calm her down, including downloading new games on my fancy new iPhone (more about that later), but she was so anxious there was no reasoning with her. By the time they called us back she was complaining that her stomach hurt and she felt light headed. The nurse that came in to see if she was numb was a bit strict with her trying to get her to calm down, which she didn't like, but it worked....for a minute. Upon realizing she was not numb, Nurse Grouchy left to get the Doc. (Dr. Valentine) who we've seen before and really liked. She came in and broke the news to The Princess that they would have to numb her with a few injections to the wound itself (OUCH!). Drama, drama, drama. However, after some sudden loud cries the injection was done and it was smooth sailing from there! The stitches themselves were a piece of cake! While the Dr. stitched we all tried to make up dramatic stories that Madison could tell her school friends about what happened. After her elbow was sufficiently sewn (four stitches in all) we thanked the good doctor and walked out into the night, with The Princess in a much more chipper mood. We breezed through the McDonald's drive-thru, having earned a couple of hot fudge sundaes with nuts (me for sanity maintained, her for no fainting spells and bravery in the end) then headed home to bed, both completely exhausted!
Honestly, I just have to say that though I did maintain calm through the whole "ordeal" it really was hard to watch my poor girl go through all of that! I can't imagine how much those injections must have hurt and I am so proud of her for bouncing back so fast once the numbness descended. What a trooper!
