Almost 2 weeks ago now, we tore down our old pool in the back to make way for the new one. The metal frame was cut up into pieces of scrap, which my husband placed at the end of the driveway for bulk pick-up in a few weeks. I remember thinking when Pete was cutting it up how sharp those pieces were! Pete said that it needed to stay out there because it was way to smelly to put in the garage or any other enclosed place. The kids aren't out front a whole lot, so it didn't seem like it was going to be a problem... or so we thought!
Fast forward to Sunday night the 20th. Following church service, we were placing our trash (for Monday's regular pick-up) and the recycling out at the curb. It was getting dark and Zeke was playing in the yard over near the pile of scrap metal. I heard Pete tell him several times to stay away from the pile. Zeke listens most of the time, but evidently there was something wrong with his hearing that night. He tripped and fell right into the pile of scrap and gashed his leg below the knee.
Titus saw the whole thing, but my back was to Zeke because I was setting the bags of trash out. Titus said, "Mom, Zeke is bleeding and it's bad!" Hearing his voice and knowing that Titus has been trained in First Aid, I knew it must be pretty bad. Pete and I turned to see the gash and blood gushing down toward his sock. I told everyone to get in the van because we were going to have to go to the ER.
I made it upstairs as quickly as I could (in my pregnant condition- that seems to take a while) to fetch the first aid kit in order to clean him up, stabilize the wound, and get a bandage on it. On the way up, I grabbed his shot record which was in plain sight since we had just had a well-check for him in the past week or so. I wanted to make sure that they didn't try to stick him with a Tetanus shot if he didn't need it, which he didn't.
We made it to the ER in about 10 minutes. We kept his leg elevated the entire time. Keep in mind, he hadn't cried at all so far. Within a few minutes we were back in a room ready to have him stitched. This wasn't our first time to the ER, so it went pretty quickly. As a side note, I think we've all been in there for one emergency or another. We're like Tim the Tool Man on "Home Improvement". They're getting to know us on a first name basis! But, that made our visit go even faster since we were already in the system, etc.
By the time the doctor got a good look at the leg, Zeke was having a good time looking around the room, asking questions, and making new friends. Everyone in the ER was in awe of this little guy who didn't even cry once. They gave him 5 numbing shots... still no tears. They sewed him up- 4 inside stitches and 9 on the outside... lucky 13!!!... still no tears. Several nurses and doctors came to see him while he was there because he was being such a brave boy. They were also fascinated that there were 4 more kids in the waiting room and I was obviously expecting again. It was quite a gawk-fest.
Fast forward to Sunday night the 20th. Following church service, we were placing our trash (for Monday's regular pick-up) and the recycling out at the curb. It was getting dark and Zeke was playing in the yard over near the pile of scrap metal. I heard Pete tell him several times to stay away from the pile. Zeke listens most of the time, but evidently there was something wrong with his hearing that night. He tripped and fell right into the pile of scrap and gashed his leg below the knee.
Titus saw the whole thing, but my back was to Zeke because I was setting the bags of trash out. Titus said, "Mom, Zeke is bleeding and it's bad!" Hearing his voice and knowing that Titus has been trained in First Aid, I knew it must be pretty bad. Pete and I turned to see the gash and blood gushing down toward his sock. I told everyone to get in the van because we were going to have to go to the ER.
I made it upstairs as quickly as I could (in my pregnant condition- that seems to take a while) to fetch the first aid kit in order to clean him up, stabilize the wound, and get a bandage on it. On the way up, I grabbed his shot record which was in plain sight since we had just had a well-check for him in the past week or so. I wanted to make sure that they didn't try to stick him with a Tetanus shot if he didn't need it, which he didn't.
We made it to the ER in about 10 minutes. We kept his leg elevated the entire time. Keep in mind, he hadn't cried at all so far. Within a few minutes we were back in a room ready to have him stitched. This wasn't our first time to the ER, so it went pretty quickly. As a side note, I think we've all been in there for one emergency or another. We're like Tim the Tool Man on "Home Improvement". They're getting to know us on a first name basis! But, that made our visit go even faster since we were already in the system, etc.
By the time the doctor got a good look at the leg, Zeke was having a good time looking around the room, asking questions, and making new friends. Everyone in the ER was in awe of this little guy who didn't even cry once. They gave him 5 numbing shots... still no tears. They sewed him up- 4 inside stitches and 9 on the outside... lucky 13!!!... still no tears. Several nurses and doctors came to see him while he was there because he was being such a brave boy. They were also fascinated that there were 4 more kids in the waiting room and I was obviously expecting again. It was quite a gawk-fest.
Above, you see Zeke's "spiders" in his leg. At least that's what he thinks they look like. The sutures will come out on Wednesday the 30th. Until then, it seems that the worst part is that he doesn't get to swim in the pool with the others until then. They've only been swimming once since then because it's either been raining or simply too cold and cloudy.
I guess that the stitches go really well with the burn he had on the same leg from Dad's motorcycle earlier last week... and of course the infamous self imposed hair cut! BTW- did you notice that his hair IS finally growing back?
The nurses and doctors loved the stories and loaded him up with reward stickers on his way out the door. Yeah, and I'm sure we'll be back before too long.
So, chalk it up to a lesson learned and another scar to add to all his others- which are getting too numerous to count.
I guess that the stitches go really well with the burn he had on the same leg from Dad's motorcycle earlier last week... and of course the infamous self imposed hair cut! BTW- did you notice that his hair IS finally growing back?
The nurses and doctors loved the stories and loaded him up with reward stickers on his way out the door. Yeah, and I'm sure we'll be back before too long.
So, chalk it up to a lesson learned and another scar to add to all his others- which are getting too numerous to count.
