A Nice Trip

Well, not so nice. Yesterday, I got a call shortly after the kids had headed off to school on the bus. It was the school secretary, calling to tell me that Clara had tripped and fallen on her way into school, and had a small gash on her forehead that should be looked at by a doctor. After confirming that my daughter was doing okay and not hysterical (a change for the drama queen), I quickly changed out of sweatpants, made sure I had her health card and her two favourite, small stuffed animals (Marty, the zebra and Penny, the dalmatian puppy), and headed out the door. On the drive to school, I called and left a message for my client's mom to let them know I may or may not be coming, due to Clara's injury, and would get back to them a little later. I also called my aunt to let her know that she would be picking up just one from the bus.

Once at the school, I parked in the no-park bus zone (I figured I was entitled - besides, it wasn't bus time anyway). The secretaries told me that Clara was doing well, and took me to see her. As soon as she saw me, her bottom lip pouted right out, her eyes welled up, and she said "Mummy" in a heartwrenching little voice as she threw herself into my arms. I think she was more upset that she got blood on her pants and her new shirt than about her actual injury. She was also worried that she might have to have stitches. A few years ago, Corwin had to have two stitches under his chin. He was brave, but Clara was very upset about it.

After thanking the secretaries, and asking that they let Corwin know that Clara was with me and doing just fine, we headed off to the doctor. Of course, our doctor was at a conference as of yesterday until Friday (it never fails!! Corwin had to get stitches at the clinic because our doctor was on holiday). So we had to go to the assigned clinic. We were seen quickly, and the doctor took off the band-aid. Wow - it was tiny, but very swollen and bruised, right in the middle of her forehead. And it was a good bleeder. He confirmed that it needed either sutures or glue, but they don't have the glue at the clinic and he thought that, cosmetically speaking, we should go to the Children's Hospital because they have they glue as well as a non-needle anesthetic for sutures. My reaction was "CHEO? Can't I go to Carleton Place?" (CHEO - the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario - takes forever!!! My policy is that unless the kids are going to be admitted, I won't go to CHEO. I go to a small hospital just outside of the city, and kids get seen quickly). The doctor wasn't keen - he thought that they would do a better job at CHEO if sutures were needed. So, off to CHEO we went. By this time, it was 2:40. We called Daddy to give him an update, and also called my client to cancel for that afternoon.

Once at CHEO, we went through triage - you know, all the same questions we had just answered at the doctor's office. They told us to have a seat, and we would go to registration shortly. There are big signs in the waiting room: CHECK WITH A NURSE BEFORE YOU GIVE YOUR CHILD ANYTHING TO EAT OR DRINK. I figured we'd get registered, then ask. I was getting hungry - I was just about to make lunch when I got the call, so hadn't had anything since coffee and a carrot muffin around 8:30 am. We got called to the registration room, answered all the pertinent questions, and Clara got her bracelet. I asked the nurse about food and drink, and I was told not to give her anything "Just in case we need to sedate her a bit. Don't worry, it won't be long." Okay, no problem. This was at 3:25. At 5:10, I asked again. Different nurse. She looked at me like I was nuts and said "for a tiny little laceration, why wouldn't you give her anything?" Well, because one of you told me NOT TO! Just then, another nurse came to get us. Yay, we were on our way.

Or not. We just got to sit in the hall of the main treatment area. Like the great Disney lie, just when you think you're about to get on the ride, you turn the corner and. . . there are another 20 rows of people. At least Madagascar was playing on the TV here, with volume, and Clara could have some water. At 6:00 (by this point, Madagascar had finished, and Shrek 2 had started), a doctor came to see Clara. And discovered that all the rooms were occupied (pet peeve - it says right on the suture room doors - SUTURE ROOM. DO NOT APPLY ANY CASTS OR SPLINTS IN THESE ROOMS. USE THE ORTHO ROOM. There was a kid in one getting a cast put on. And another kid with a fracture in the other!). So the pediatrician was going to check Clara's laceration in the hallway. Fine by me, both of us just wanted to get the show on the road. Of course, the doctor got paged. Thinking it would be hours before we saw her again, we settled in to watch Shrek meet his in-laws. A surprisingly short time later, the doctor returned, and a suture room was even available.

Poor Clara. Having the band-aid removed was pretty traumatic, especially because she had a fairly large, bruised bump underneath. I held her hands, and she also clung to Penny, the puppy. She had been brave all day, but in the examination room, her eyes welled up when the doctor asked her to lay down. Clara was so sure it was going to hurt, and kept asking "am I getting stitches?". We reassured her that it was just glue, but there is a needle on the end of the glue tube. Despite the doctor's promise that the needle wouldn't touch her, Clara was skeptical. And refusing to lie down. After a few minutes of explaining that the glue just drips through the needle, and there is a needle because they don't want a big opening like school glue, so it can go just in the cut and not everywhere else, she finally laid down. Two drips and she was done. Blue glue. And a piece of tape. We were out of there by 6:20. And home by 6:55. Oh, the kicker? According to the doctor, the Carleton Place Hospital would have been able to handle it just fine. We would have been home by dinner at the latest. Next time, I'm going with my first instinct!

When we got home, Corwin was so concerned about his sister. He kept asking her if she was okay, if she had needed stitches, telling her he had painted her a special picture at school, and trying to give her hugs and kisses gently. He headed up for his bath while she had a grilled cheese and chocolate milk, which she ate ravenously (not surprising!). After a quick bath for Clara, we got her snuggled up with her blankies to have some milk and a snack before bed. She and Corwin sat side by side to watch a bit of a movie, then off to bed to read a book. Clara was worried that her cut was going to open up and get blood on everything during the night. We convinced her that wouldn't happen, and she fell asleep, exhausted after a long day.