But last Friday morning was different. Jared was in the bathroom and I was in the living room nursing Hannah. We were both busy at that moment. Aubrey likes to try to get into the bathroom while we are in it and we usually tell her to go to the other room. She'll say "oooh" and then run off at full speed. This happens at least once a day.
Only this time, when she ran off, she didn't think of her surroundings. I hear a thud and then Aubrey starts crying. Because she bumps herself all the time or cries because Jared won't let her in the bathroom, I didn't think much of it. I just called out and asked what had happened. She kept crying hysterically.
Luckily, Jared came out to see what was wrong and he noticed Aubrey was bleeding. So he rushed her to the kitchen to put her on the counter and dab her wound with paper towels.
As they rushed by, I just thought it was a bloody nose. And then I saw where the blood was coming from. I quickly laid Hannah on the floor and went to help. When I saw the gash on her forehead, I knew she'd need stitches and we'd have to go to the ER. My first aid kit is pretty basic...
Jared stays with Aubrey while I run around. I change my pajama pants to jeans, grab clothes and spare panties for Aubrey (she was just in her panties that morning). I put Hannah in her carseat and hopped in back. Jared knew where the ER was, so he drove while I sat in back and tried to hold Aubrey's gash closed.
Found the emergency entrance. Jared got out to carry Aubrey inside while Hannah and I went to park the car. I luckily got inside quick enough to know what room Jared and Aubrey went to.
Aubrey did NOT appreciate all the nurses and people trying to help her. She doesn't like doctors or strangers as it is. Then add in the strange place, pain and confusion. She wouldn't let the nurse take her vitals or anything. All she wanted to do was go home. She'd say "I want to go back to the car!"
She was freaking out, Hannah was calm and didn't make much noises. Jared tried to help Aubrey while I answered insurance questions. Aubrey just cried and cried so hard that she threw up. It was mostly stomach acid, but we were waiting for it to happen. She made a few gagging noises before that and in lots cases, a big bump to the head results in vomiting.
Poor Aubrey kept asking for her clothes because she was naked. So we got her in a shirt and the shorts I brought. Silly me forgot her shoes.
The only thing to calm Aubrey down was for the nurses to leave and putting a show on the TV. When Curious George ended, I pulled it up on Netflix on my phone. The nurse came back and talked mostly about the show and finally got Aubrey to warm up to her a little. Every now and then we would count all the people in the room. 11 people (including Jared, Hannah and me) total. So many!
The doctor came in and told us our 2 options. Either we hold her down and stitch her up with a little pain reliever in her forehead. (Ha, as if that was a real option for Aubrey). Or we have her sedated. He explained the risks to us, but we quickly realized it was the only option. And at least with being sedated, she wouldn't remember being stitched up.
We finally got Aubrey's vitals and they got ready to give her the sedative. It was administered by a shot in her thigh. She didn't appreciate that. So she cried and cried. But slowly her crying died down and she let everyone lay her down on the bed. They warned us that her eyes would be open the whole time. That part didn't bother me.
What got to me was just seeing Aubrey on the bed, sedated, still hiccuping from crying so hard. Jared left the room for a little bit and took Hannah outside. I stayed nearby to hold Aubrey's hand.
They put the 3 stitches in pretty quick. Her vitals were still good and it was time for Aubrey to come back to consciousness. They said it would take a while. It was funny and so sad when Aubrey was coming back.
Every now and then she would let out a weird cry. A few times she tried to get up herself and just ended up falling over in bed. She even fell over a little bit into the bed railing. And her mouth must have felt funny because she kept doing this funny thing with her tongue. She kept sticking it out, licking her upper lip and then slowly slide her mouth back in. Everything else was typical, except that funny tongue thing.
She would notice things and would talk to me about them. Like the thing on her finger that monitored her pulse or whatever. There was a red light and it lit up her whole finger. So Aubrey saw it and said that her finger was red. She needed a band-aid. And she said it clearly enough that we buzzed for the nurse who came and took all the monitor stuff off her chest, tummy and finger. And we got her a band-aid for her finger!
Aubrey still really wanted to go home. Then a nurse had a great idea for us to give Aubrey rides in a wagon as she continued to come out of sedation. They laid blankets down and had a pillow help prop her up. She was pretty happy. Jared pulled her up and down the hallway.
He said that she greeted everyone with a wave and hello. When I was saying goodbye as she rode away, it was so cute that she kept looking back at waving bye-bye to me. Her smile is weird from the drug!
At last it was time to go home. Aubrey was able to drink and keep juice in her tummy. She even asked for a popsicle. She could take a few steps without falling, though she was still a little shaky and unbalanced.
We went home and knew it would be a pampering day for Aubrey. We were warned by nurses that she might be super tired or famished all day. Aubrey didn't seem to be either of those. It was time for her nap anyhow, so we don't think she was any more tired than usual. And her appetite wasn't increased or anything.
She is much happier now. She is good about not touching the stitches and she likes wearing fun band-aids on her head. She still doesn't want us touching it, but we only do it twice a day to put some neosporin on it.
We love her very much. We'll go back in a week and have the stitches taken out. That will be a whole other adventure, because the only real option is to hold her down while they remove the stitches. Oh man...Peter Pan!
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