Aiden Goes To The ER

As the title of this blog would suggest, there are some things you just can't plan for and accidents you won't foresee and can't avoid because boys will be boys.  And for that matter, kids will be kids.  Such was our busy morning last Friday, as we prepared to leave for a trip to Baltimore.

It was our first time taking an extended trip with both kids on a plane.  We were hurriedly trying to pack everything but the kitchen sink while Aiden played as usual (meaning pulling everything out and leaving a wake of messy chaos behind him).  We would have been on our way to the airport in 10 minutes when from the other room I heard a thud and Don calling me to come quickly.  Aiden has a habit of rocking back in his highchair and my first thought was, 'Aiden has finally fallen backward' and I hoped it wasn't too bad of a fall.  But that wasn't it.

I entered the room and saw Aiden holding his hands up to his face, which was covered in blood.  Instinctively, I scooped him up and tried to soothe him while looking for the source of the bleeding.  My heart was racing and I was on the edge of freaking out.  I discovered a small but deep cut on his forehead, grabbed a dish towel and applied pressure.  Don explained to me that, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aiden, sitting backward in Noah's carseat, fall forward into the corner of the bookcase.  He then raced off to get the first aid kit.  When I saw him coming to me with bandages, I (rather bossily - oops) told him, 'That's not going to do any good.  Get dressed and put Noah in the carseat - we're going to the ER'  Aiden was still crying but had calmed enough to be curious about the red stuff on his hands.  'Where dat coming from, Mommy?'  I explained about blood and sometimes you need to go to a hospital for bad 'owies'.  He was very good and calm about the whole experience and was acting completely normal by the time we reached the Pediatric ER at All Children's Hospital.  He had stopped bleeding and wanted to run around and play.

The waiting room was empty and so we were able to go straight back.  After registering Aiden and taking his vitals, they sent us back to wait for the doctor.  The nurse put numbing gel over the cut and we watched 'Cars' on the tv while we waited for that to set in.  Also, I called Southwest Airlines to explain our predicament and the likelihood we would miss our 10:45 am flight, since it was already 9 am.  Thankfully, they had no trouble bumping us to the 1 pm flight.

After about 40 minutes, the nurse was able to wash Aiden's cut.  Aiden was upset about it, but I was assured he was not crying from pain.  More screams accompanied the stitching procedure and after probably 10 minutes Aiden had 2 stiches and a neon yellow bandaid on his forehead.  He received stickers for being such a good boy and I promised him some M&Ms.

Arriving home at 11am, we (again) finished packing up for our trip and headed to the airport.  Finally, we were on our way to Baltimore.  And I had a moment to think about how my mother felt when I did nearly the exact same thing when I was 2 years old and she was pregnant with my sister.  There's nothing like the unexpected to keep you on your toes as a parent!