The one with Maddie’s ER Trip…

I knew it was too good to be true last night. I got my shower and was getting ready to turn off the light and go to bed when Maddie came down. I yelled at her for being up at ten and she decided to run up the steps; I think she tripped on her night gown and all of a sudden I heard a crash. She hit her chin on the step and screamed her lungs out. I went up after a few seconds delay and she had blood all over her hands and dripping down her nightgown. I told her to go upstairs and I think she thought I meant bed because at the top of the stairs she turned left instead of going into the bathroom. I put her on the toilet seat and grabbed the toilet paper and tried to absorb teh blood. I put some damp toilet paper to her chin and looked at the wound…. it was then that I saw it was one cut within another. Yelled to my family that Maddie split her chin and we needed to go to the ER.  

I threw on some clothes while Hannah found Maddie’s shoes and I found some flip flops and put a coat on Maddie and thought to grab the Dora blanket so she had some comfort with us. At the ER I got the "its a mom looking for attention look" probably because maddie was standing there holding her toilet paper to her chin and just playing shy; no tears at that point. The intake nurse got her a damp gauze and traded her and that was when she saw the wound; it was amazing how fast they got us back after that. They put us in a room one over from where they put Hannah when she had stitches in her knee. They barely got Maddie registered before the nurse came in for information and while the nurse was there the Doctor came in and introduced herself to Maddie. This wonderful resident got down to Maddie’s level for 5 minutes or so and talked to her before asking to see her chin. She was very gentle and very honest with Maddie as she worked with her. She talked right to Maddie as she worked and told her what to expect and that it was going to hurt when she did the numbing but if it hurt when she started the stitches to tell her.

Maddie did awesome; she laid still through the first round of numbing medication and was doing her best to stay still when they started the stitches but finally said it hurts. The doctor stopped then and numbed her face again before sitting there to let it take effect and starting all over again. Maddie laid there as still as she could as she did the stitches with me holding her hands and the nurse helping her to hold her chin right. The doctor said she was the best five year old she’s had in at least a month. Five stitches across the chin… they come out on monday.