The Injury

I had a wonderful few days up north bookended by two unfortunate incidents: I lost my sunglasses on the last day (the clippy ones that go on my prescription eyeglasses) and Chunky had 6 stitches put in his left big toe on the first day I arrived. Hubby threw Sassy in the water and Chunky went in to save her flip flop (we seriously prize those around here) - he was running to give us a report on his search (no luck) when he stepped on the sharp edge of a large rock and cut a deep gash in the underside of his toe. A freak accident. Most of the resort guests were there when it happened because it was the night of the hosted campfire with hot dogs and s'mores. A gentleman ran to get his first aid kit and was most helpful in bandaging up Chunky's left foot so the back seat of the truck wouldn't look like a blood bath scene. We headed about 20 minutes north for the "big city" hospital where we waited for 2+ hours before being seen by a doctor. We saw a receptionist, admission specialist, triage nurse and an attending nurse, but no treatment, cleaning or anything else was performed until the doctor set his eyes on the injury. This is the first time I'd experienced this long of a wait - mind you I've only been in an ER four times in my adult life and always with someone else needing medical attention - but I thought that was kind of long. Anyhoo, as previously mentioned Chunky can be a bit dramatic and he didn't disappoint in this situation. I don't mean to sound indifferent to his pain and suffering - I'm his mother and he's my baby so of course I wanted nothing more than to take it all away but I could not and I knew that this was not a life altering injury. He has a tendency to speak very loudly anyway, but his yelling "it feels like it's going to fall off" over and over wasn't likely soothing to the other patients. He had worked himself up so much on several occassions that I had to remind him to breathe and deeply - like Lamaze for labor. The triage nurse was really concerned he was going to start hyperventilating at one point. I went to get him some fruit juice from a vending machine and parked* him in front of a TV with cartoons and the next thing you know he's his jolly old self. *He was given a wheelchair upon arrival which made him feel pretty special as well as provided a brief distraction (no one else could "drive"). When we finally saw the Dr he said it was a deep cut and he nicked the tendon but since Chunky could wiggle his toe there shouldn't be any issues. When all was said and done the Lidocaine injections before the stitches hurt more than the actual injury. I know this because I sat just a few inches from his face as he was getting the injections and my ears are still ringing. I'll post more about our trip later - enjoy 'The Injury' photos.