Lahloos and Other Tales: Day after Shock...

Is it normal or possible to go into shock the day after a traumatic event?

Yesterday there was some excitement around our house...after avoiding the ER for the last 7 years, we made our first trip yesterday. While I had my money on it being for Isaac, Toby made this first trip possible.

It was a normal Saturday...kids were up and playing, I had started laundry, Rick was blogging, and talking with his dad on Skype. Keighley and I were outside hanging up clothes and we could hear the boys bouncing around on their beds. They have a sweet set up in their room that is perfect for bed jumping. Three beds lined up in a row, not a foot between them...even little Toby can leap from one bed to the next.

From outside it sounded like they were having a great time. Our kids are huge risk takers, so having all three jumping seemed like no big deal. I heard a "boof, thump" and a cry...I figured some one had knocked into someone...no big deal. The crying continued and I banged on the window...to get them to stop.....

"DADDY!!!! DADDY!!! DADDY!!!!! COME HERE!!!!" Noah was screaming in his "i -am-too-scared- to -move" voice. I bolted inside. By the time I got to the boy's room, Rick was coming out (his second trip back there) He told me to stay there...but that only meant something was really wrong... (he wasn't sure how I would do with blood). I rounded the cornor into the living room, to find Toby sitting stuned with a HUGE gash in his forehead. Blood dripping everywhere.

The gash was hanging open and was the about a 1/2 inch wide and almost as long. It looked bad. Rick was calm...I was calm...Toby was worried about the mess (his Thomas unders were messy with blood). Rick got some gauze on his head, I had Noah load everyone in the van and off to the ER we went.

Issac, Keighley and Noah were all freaked out, and we had them stay in the boys room until he was bandagaged... Isaac and Keighley were crying and we had them start singing to Toby to make him feel better. While I got Toby in the car, Rick talked with them about being brave for Toby, that he was going to be ok, but we had to move quickly and stop crying.

We arrived at the ER, Rick dropped me and Toby off and went to the school to pick up our insurance cards. When I walked in, NO ONE WAS AT THE TRIAGE DESK!!!!! Here I am, holding my little guy, whose bleeding from the head, and NO ONE IS THERE! Around the cornor at another desk was the "resistration" I bluntly asked if anyone was going to help us, she said "yes", I said "soon" she said "yes". Apparntley, you have to register BEFORE treatment...this didn't seem right to me..

We got into triage, the nurse was awesome! She took Toby's pulse, gave a sticker, and tylenol all in about two minutes. She assesed that stiches would be needed. No shock to me there! We were taken back to the "surgury" room. Toby was calm, and cool. Worried about his temporay band-aid falling off. Someone got us a story book, and Toby loved it!

Another woman was ushered in, also with a cut on her hand from a boning knife! She was annoyed to have to wait. After about 5 minutes she got up mumbling something about "They can't forget about a baby and an old lady"

By that the doctor came in. He was very friendly, took one look at Toby and got the nurse moving on new gauze, but this time with "numbing" stuff to stop some of the pain and to help when it came time for stiches. He also ordered a seditive to slighlty sedate Toby. He was defending this choice when I chimed in with "do whatever you think is best to keep him from freaking out while you stich him up!" He laughed, and off the nurse went again. The seditive was administered through his nose, and that was the worst part of the whole thing for him! He hated that!!!

10 minutes later, Toby was loopy and "high" and was babbling about Thomas and Percy and Hiro all hiding from Spencer (which actually is a story line for a Thomas video), he had the doctor cracking up! The doctor started by giving about 5 shots to numb the whole area, they he put in one internal stich to pull it all together. 8 external stiches later he was done...I kept telling Toby how great he was doing and complementing the doctor on how small the stiches were...the nuse said "well, he studied in plastics" THE DOCTOR WAS A PLASTIC SURGEON!!!!!!!

We got two perscriptions (pain and antibotics), no getting his head wet until the stiches come out...and come back on Tuesday for a dressing change! That was it! In and out in an hour!

Today, as I was reflecting on all that happend...I started to freak out a little! I wasn't freaked by the blood! I wasn't freaked by the gash itself...but if he had hit in a different direction he could have been killed!

I am super thankful for Noah who stayed with Toby but called for daddy!

I am thankful for Rick's cool head and combat life saving training...he knew just what to do and kept Toby calm too!

I am thankful for the staff at the hosptial and especially that a plastic surgeon was on call yesterday (a simlar thing happend a long time ago on a youth trip....bad accident, head wound and a plastic surgeon who was on call!!!)

I am thankful that Toby is 100% ok! He doesn't like that he has to still have a band-aid, and he's not thrilled about keeping his head dry. But he is playing and laguhing and being silly Toby today!

I am glad that this was our 1st trip in 7 years. I am also thankful that we have insurance and that the two perscriptions we had to get were less than 10$.

Who knew jumping on a bed could be so dangerous!