stitches

Brennan is fearless and a little bit of a dare devil so it was only time before he got seriously hurt.  The other day the boys were outside riding bikes with their friends, just like they always do.  I was standing on the driveway, holding Callie, watching as my boys were riding around the cul-de-sac.  Brennan started wiggling his handle bars to show off and a couple seconds later...before I could tell him to stop doing that...his handle bars turned too sharp and he flew of his bike. I ran up to him to help him, not knowing how bad he was hurt at first.  I followed him inside the house to see how bad he was hurt and that's when I noticed the huge gash on his chin.  I immediately knew he would need stitches because his skin was cut way too deep.  Luckily it wasn't bleeding too bad but it looked pretty painful.  Brennan was pretty hysterical and I was trying to comfort him and also make a few phone calls (calling the doctor's office and the insurance and my dad to come babysit and Nate).  This happened on a Tuesday which is always Nate's busy day at work and the night he works late, but luckily that Tuesday all his appointments rescheduled so he was free to come home and help out.  It was such a blessing to have him there to help comfort Brennan with me.  So he arrived home and then my dad showed up the babysit and off we went to the Instacare. 

It was our first experience in an Instacare.  Brennan was settled down finally when we first got there but when we finally went in to see the doctor he was told to lay down on the table and the nurses and doctor surrounded him and he got really distressed.  Before this incident, he had no idea what stitches were so I think he was nervous about the unknown. And then the doctor had to inject the Lidocaine into his chin a few times before he began stitching him up, and that made Brennan completely hysterical.  We had to force him to lay down.  I held down his legs, while Nate held down his arms, and the nurse held his head in place. It was so sad to see Brennan so disoriented and distressed! No one in our family has ever had to get stitches so I had no idea how traumatic it could be...mainly getting the numbing shots.  I can't imagine how much that would hurt because your face is so sensitive!  And he got 8 shots! That was definitely the worst part!  I was shaken up from the whole experience anyway and seeing Brennan distressed was so sad.  After the doctor gave him eight shots of Lidocaine, Brennan finally calmed down and the doctor was able to put 5 stitches in his chin.  The procedure didn't take too long.  And Brennan was so tough once his chin was numb!  Once we walked out of the building when we were all done, Brennan said, "I never want to go there again!"  And I hope he doesn't have to!  We treated him to a root beer float at the Arctic Circle across the street and that seemed to make him happy.  And when we got home, I just cuddled with him on the couch and watched Frozen as he relaxed from the whole ordeal.  I hope we don't have to visit the Instacare again anytime soon!

Here is his gash before stitches:

 Here he is before he got stitches...

 And below is a picture of his chin after the stitches.  The next day, he woke up completely happy and back to himself.  He rode his bike and scooter and ran around like usual.  And he got lots of extra attention from people that day wondering how he was doing.  My friend Kara and her daughter Abby made him a treat, my mom brought him a balloon and some candy, and my next door neighbor insisted on bringing us dinner (even though I assured her I was capable to cook) and she brought us take-out from Buffalo Wild Wings which was delicious.  It was so sweet of people to think of little Brennan and give him some extra love and attention!