Zoe's First Stitches, 7/10/13

Wednesday, July 10th started out like most days, but ended like no other. 

 

The morning was not a beach one, so we decided to drive 15 miles and stand in line for 20 minutes at PB Boulangerie for fresh, authentic French croissants and other baked goods.  Zoe had a great time in the car ride and entertaining the folks in line with her antics.  We all sat and enjoyed our breakfast in Wellfleet before heading home to play in the kiddie pool.  Zoe fell asleep in the stroller on a walk to Pleasant Bay and mommy and daddy enjoyed a short break from the Zoe Tornado. 

After nap time was over, the real adventures began.  It seems every parent has an 'injury' story to tell about their children, and today we got our first (and hopefully last) one.  The plan was to take Zoe to the playground from about 615-715pm and then come home to prep for a parents’ night out for dinner.  We took Zoe to Eldredge Park in Orleans, which is situated between Orleans Police and Eldredge Field where a Cape Cod League baseball game was about to start.  The weather was dry and warm, and Zoe got to climbing and sliding.  She would say, ‘Come Dada,’ and I would follow her down the slide.  (Incidentally, it is not advisable to slide down kid slides with swishy shorts – the resulting wedgies hurt a lot.)  Speaking of pain…Little Zoe continued to innocently play and enjoy herself as usual at the playground.  At one point she crossed an archway, but as she approached the landing she tripped over her own feet and fell forward.  She has done this a hundred times before, but this time her forehead met the edge of a soft step.  Although there no sharp edges, the step somehow forced a cut on her head….a big, scary, deep cut.  When I first saw it, I must admit that I was pretty scared.  I thought about how my sister Rema had ‘split her head open’ when we were little, and I was anxious the same had just occurred with Zoe.  She had what appeared to be an open wound about 1 inch long horizontally across the top of her forehead, and a fair bit of blood was pouring out of it quickly.  At first I took Zoe into my arms and tried to put pressure on the gash to stop the bleeding.  Eventually I took off my t-shirt to help it more.  Other parents at the playground dialed 911, and team trainers from the baseball game offered gauze to press to the injury.  It wasn’t five minutes before an ambulance came to the rescue.  Zoe was upset but her tears and the bleeding were starting to calm down.  Ultimately the EMTs advised us to drive ourselves to the emergency room at Cape Cod Hospital to have Zoe seen for stitching. 

The ride to the hospital was interesting and bizarre.  I was driving and observing Zoe and Mommy in the back seat.  Zoe would occasionally whimper or wince from the pain on her head, but mostly she was interested in lollipops, the iPhone and wanting to play.  She said, ‘I want to go the playground’ while we were on our way to the hospital after leaving the playground where she bashed her head!  She also insisted on having a lollipop and watching Om Nom Cartoons on the Cut The Rope app.  In a strange way, her usual and ordinary behavior helped us to stay calm for her.  It also gave us the strength to call Situ to break the news.  Needless to say, Situ panicked in her own way.  But that’s a story for another day. 

At the ER check-in, the folks we met in line told us that seeing Zoe reminded them of the time their son ran into a plow.  Yeesh, for how long do I have to worry about plow accidents with Zoe?  At least they were laughing about it, and their son seemed fine (except for an ear infection that required ER attention). 

After only about 10 minutes Zoe was checked in and waiting in her very own waiting ‘room.’  The waiting rooms are along the outer walls of a big square room, with nurses and doctors scurrying around a pit in the center.  The rooms are separated by curtains on the side and are open in the front, with about five to a wall.  Nurses would periodically check in on Zoe and give us a heads up about what to expect.  Here’s what we could expect: Zoe would require a gauze pad painted with a numbing agent taped to her forehead for about 20 minutes to numb the area where stitching would take place.  After the area was good and numb, we would wrap her in a sheet like a burrito, pin her down and hold her in place with her eyes covered while the area was extra-numbed and sown up with stiches inside and out.  But hey, no big deal. 

Zoe certainly made the most of her waiting time.  We introduced her to Sour Gummi Worms (a new favorite) and Lemonade Vitamin Water; she did a great job stretching and chewing those worms.  We also made friends with two young kids on vacation named Holden and Zuzu (Suzanne).  Each kid entertained the other for a little while.  Zoe and I also walked laps sneakily around the waiting area square, like we were going to sneak up on someone.  We would tiptoe softly, raise our knees high and bob our hands palms up by our chests while we walked slowly around the square.  The other patients got a kick out of Zoe and it showed – she was a crowd favorite. 

By about 9pm it was Zoe’s turn for service.  She waved good luck to her friends, nibbled a gummi worm, accepted her burrito sheet gracefully and laid down into position on her hospital bed under a spotlight that shone brightly on her forehead.  The nurse covered Zoe’s eyes, Nikki pinned down her shoulders and I cued up the Wiggles to try to keep her calm.  The Wiggles helped a bit, but mostly it was about 7 minutes of squirming and cries of, “I don’t want to” and “I’m all done.”  Considering the circumstances, though, Zoe did a great job.  By minute 8, she was sitting up and selecting which popsicle flavor to take for the road.  By minute 9 she had a twin orange popsicle melting in her mouth and dripping down her hands.  A few minutes later we were on our way out the door from the ER and Zoe said, ‘I like the hospital, they fix my booboo.’ 

 

The next baby that needed fixing was Situ.  Zoe stayed awake for the whole ride home and enjoyed a lollipop about 30 seconds after greeting Situ.  Was the lollipop for Zoe’s comfort or for Situ’s?  Situ took it all pretty well after she saw a smile on Zoe’s face. 

 

Our extraordinary day lasted until 11pm when Zoe finally settled into bed for an ordinary night’s sleep. 

 

PS Thursday had no incidents to report, but Friday we got a bee sting!  She's healed from the sting fast, and at least we know she's not allergic to bee stings.  I think we need to get back to city life!