A Trip To The ER

Yesterday Chuck had the kids out at his Mom and Dad's. Tis the season to cut and hang tobacco so Chuck had about 8 hired hands out in the field cutting and spearing the tobacco..... Don't freak out, no one chopped their hand off or anything like that...

I had to work yesterday so I got out there about 3:30. Suzie was playing outside, Gracie was watching TV and Josh and Caleb were riding 4 wheelers with Brandon. I was there, mmmm, maybe 10 minutes at the most. Chuck and his Dad were sitting on the back porch so I grabbed a beer and went out to sit with them. Brandon came fish-tailing up the hill, doing a doughnut in the gravel, filling the air with dust. I took two, maybe 3 sips of my beer when I saw Josh riding up the hill. He rode into the yard, his helmet in his lap and his shirt pulled up to his chin.

I really didn't pay attention to him, I just figured he was hot and was using his shirt to wipe sweat. Someone said, "Hey, is Josh bleeding?". I looked over at him and watched him calmly walk to the house. As he stepped on the back porch he pulled his shirt down and with a little smile on his face showed me his bleeding chin. Josh continued walking into the house, straight to the bathroom to look at his 'battle wound', me in tow right behind him.

Me: Josh, what happened?
Josh: I was following Brandon and hit the breaks but I slid into the tree.
Me: What tree? Where you in the back field, by the pond, or coming up the hill?

Josh was trying to tell me what happened but he was more interested in looking in the mirror, plus he was stuttering a little so it was hard to understand him. I turned him around and examined his chin. It wasn't a deep cut but it was laid wide open, cut like an 'X' there was about 3/4 of an inch exposed. *SIGH* ...He is gonna need stitches.

I went out to get Chuck but he was already coming in. He went into the bathroom to look at Josh's chin..... Yep, he's gonna need stitches. I handed Angel my beer and told her to enjoy, wet a wash cloth for Josh's chin and grabbed my keys. Since we were at his Mom and Dad's it was closer for me to take him to a different hospital then where I would normally take him..... this hospital is pretty 'Hill Jackish' but it would do for stitches.... I had only been to this hospital twice so Adam's girlfriend, Jennifer, went with me. Gracie wanted to go to, so off the four of us went.

We were there for about 20 minutes before we actually got to see the Dr, but that included registration and a visit from the nurse.... Being that Josh is only 13 and hurt himself while riding a 4 wheeler I was completely surprised when NO ONE asked if he was wearing a helmet.... not the nurse, not the DR..... "Hill Jackish" I tell you.... (yes he had his helmet on)

I said earlier that Josh "calmly" walked across the yard, well, that is how he was the entire time. When the Nurse asked him to rate his pain on a scale from 1 to 10, Josh said it didn't hurt at all.... Ha! if this had been Caleb... man-o-man, major crisis... we would have had to call the ambulance, the medic.... I know I wouldn't have been able to drive him by myself to the hospital.... So anyway, other than just appearing a little nervous, Josh showed no emotion or pain. He winced a little when the Dr numbed his face but that was it.

Gracie was sitting on my lap in the ER. She looked at Josh's chin a few times but didn't seem to affected by it. When the Dr started to numb Josh... sticking him with a needle.... Gracie made a face and shuddered. I turned her head toward me and told her not to watch. She slid her head from my hand and looked back over my shoulder, watching the Dr, "I wanna see it"

Next the Dr started to stitch up the skin. Gracie did not want to see this and clung to my neck. Jennifer asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. Gracie willing went with Jennifer so I turned my attention to Josh. He calmly laid there, legs crossed, hands folded in lap, looking around like nothing was going on. I watched the Dr tie and stitch, stitch and tie. At one point I sighed and shifted in my seat. The Dr quickly glanced up at me and asked if I was alright.... a little shocked at his quick reaction to me I looked up at him.... "No, I'm fine. I was just shifting in my chair." He kinda laughed saying that he has had some parents pass out. I told him I was a first responder and a 911 dispatcher so this was no big deal. We talked a little about that as he continued to stitch up Josh. (4 stitches)

We got back to the farm about 6 pm, just in time to eat. Josh was ready to ride the 4 wheeler again but I told him to stay off it and to take it easy, "Any little bump will make it start bleeding again" I told him.

When we got home that night, Josh was getting ready for a shower and I noticed a scrape on his chest and a bruise on his shoulder. I raised my eye brow at him asked if he did that when he hit his chin. He ignored my question and examined himself in the bathroom mirror. I sat Josh down and made him slowly tell me where he was and what happened. I wanted to make sure he didn't hit the tree harder than he originally stated. I think he was trying to keep up with Brandon, hit a bump, lost control and when he hit the breaks he skidded into the tree. We had a little chat about safety....

Ya know, I'm kinda glad this happened because this is all preparation for when he turns 16... *deep, heavy sigh*...