"the doctor people glued my forehead together"

Well, today was one of those days that you just absolutely dread as a mother...I got the call from the babysitter... you know, the one that starts with "everything's okay, BUT...." And then your heart stops beating and you feel like you might just toss your lunch, which happened to be a tasty cheeseburger from McDonalds (I digress...).

Well, here's the whole story. Today at Ms. Mary's, Jacob had a little mishap with the kitchen counter and got a pretty yucky gash on his forehead. He was running from the living room to the kitchen and I guess forgot the corner of the kitchen counter was there. Right at forehead level. Poor little guy! Ms. Mary was a trooper - she managed to get him calm, clean up the mess - why do foreheads bleed so much???, and she even got a butterfly band aid on it. She called us to let us know what had happened and thought we should come see it just to make sure we didn't think it needed stiches. STITCHES????? I screamed in my mind??? My little guy might need stiches???? Holy moly, you might as well as said he'd severed his leg or something like that. (dramatic, I know, but seriously? This is my little man we're talking about!).

The other part of the story... I was all over the place today. Started out the work day by driving to Lexington for a conference. Then had a meeting in Louisville destined to start at noon...I was almost downtown Louisville when I got the call and decided to turn right around and head to check on my little guy. In the meantime, I called the pediatrician to see if stiches were in fact needed, could we do it at the office or would it necessitate a trip to the ER. FORTUNATELY, my pediatricians' office said they could do it if needed. So I trucked back to Shelbyville and went to rescue my little man.

Unfortunately, it was naptime for both my critters, so by the time I got there, they were both in near-meltdown stage. Jonathan was crying and Jacob was screaming NOT to take off his bandaid...but. I. Had. To!!!!! I had to take a look. It is just a little gash, but a gash none the less and was still bleeding pretty bad when I got there (about an hour post incident). So, after a phone call to Daddy, we decided to go ahead and take him to the doctor.

When we got there, Jacob was fine. Playing happily...until we went into the room. Moms, ya'll know exactly the kind of fear I'm talking about, I presume. It was ugly. The nurse was great and managed to listen to his heart and look at ears and all the routine stuff with no problems. When conversation turned to the little incident with the kitchen counter, it was entirely different. The doctor came in, and we held him down long enough for her to get off the bandage expertly applied by Ms. Mary and get it all cleaned up to see what we might need to do. Here's the options we were given: stitches (which of course involves a needle), glue, or some procedure that would require him to be velcroed to a table for 30 minutes....wait a minute. Did you say velcro my child to a table for 30 minutes??? I started to cry and the doctor said she would just see what was needed. Fortunately for all of us, she decided that the best course of action was the glue - quick and painless (except for the sensitive ears out there). Jacob flat out screamed at the top of his lungs, but fortunately, it really only lasted 30 seconds. Dr. Schuster was fabulous. Jacob was brave. Daddy was braver. Jonathan was oblivious to the whole thing. And mommy -well, mommy was nervous, but thankful for a strong husband and a great doctor and staff. And thankful that the doctor chose the glue!

Then, we piled in the car and headed home for an ice cream treat. I know it REALLY wasn't that major, and he is definitely going to be 100% fine. Still.... I'm just saying that when it's your own child, nothing is worse than seeing them hurt or scared. NOTHING. Heartwarming to think that God's love for me is even deeper that that which I felt today for Jacob. Heartwarming and Humbling all at the same time!!!!!

(oh - the title for this post was inspired by his conversation with Grammy and Mamaw on the way back home from the doctor... "i was running and the kitchen counter hit my head and it was bleeding and then we went to the doctor and the doctor people glued my forehead together.")