not surprised

Tonight we found ourselves in the ER because Hailey got knocked down in the front room and banged her head on the brick/rock stuff around the fireplace. I was in the other room finishing up clipping coupons minutes away from going and turning off the Pandora station the kids were dancing to. When I heard her start screaming. Now, Hailey has this scream that isn't abnormal but it's very dramatic and she doesn't hold back from using it in the slightest scuffle. So when she came down into the family room with a tiny bit of blood on her face I assumed it was a bloody nose because she just had one yesterday. And then she kept touching the back of her head screaming that Lincoln pushed her down and she was bleeding, and her hands turned BRIGHT red! I jumped up with a trail of blood and children behind me. I couldn't tell where or how big her cut was, but we have never had anything very serious and I assumed this would be the same, but there sure was a ton of blood. I asked Payden to get me a rag because Hailey and I were both quickly covered so my eyes spotted the wound and I couldn't believe it I was watching her head be pumped of it's blood! That may seem like a dramatic statement but it was a dramatic sight. I used my hand while I was waiting for Payden and I just about lost my dinner. My thumb found the gash and I could feel the beating pulse against my skin. Okay I'm getting grossed out thinking about it. Blech.

I know that I'm not the most useful in emergency situations and plenty of you have heard my less than heroic stories to prove my point. I carried her with the blessed rag to hold pressure to stop the bleeding up to get my phone which I tried to grab with my mouth because I was holding Hailey with one hand and the rag with the other, sure enough I pushed it too far back and had to grab it with my bloody hand. Called Tammi, the closest Grandma and burst into tears with all of these beautiful big brown eyes staring at me! Pull it together Heather. Deep breath! She said she was 15 min out but could meet me at the hospital. My child was going to bleed to death in my arms, I was sure of it! I couldn't think, my brain was boggled, my kids looked like ragamuffins in their half dress up-half pajama clad bodies and I didn't want to move my hand from her head. I hung up the phone and called my mom (breaking into blubberdome once again) to see if she could meet me or I don't' know I temporarily forgot I called Tammi, who knows what I was thinking? She said she was on her way. I called Jer who was still at work and the farthest away to be of immediate assistance, who reminded me I had no car to meet all troops I had just called in, a pretty important piece of the puzzle. I then called both moms directing them to my house one, to stay with the 3 non-injured kids and the other to take me and hole-in-the-head-Hailey in to the hospital.

So I waited.

Changed out of my pajama pants and I'm glad I did cause I hadn't realized they were inside out, and into jeans. I got informed by Payden and Lincoln that I didn't look very nice and the other told me I didn't look very pretty. I agreed but was making an exception to leave the house without makeup (something that rarely happens) to save my daughters life! Pardon the melodramatics, it is in reality how I felt at the time! Not my normal state of mind at all but you're getting a glimpse into the mind of 'freaking out' Heather. I overheard Lincoln tell Payden that he felt like he was about to cry! Which got me going again. My sweet son and the reason this was all happening in the first place, but still, my sweet son! In all of that, Jer beat us there! And that is when I finally calmed down. I think my freak out was intensified because I realized I was alone, with no way of fixing her immediately! It was terrifying! All of these pictures are from our phones because we obviously didn't think quickly enough to grab the camera. Hailey covered in blood while we were registering.
In the waiting room. She loved her anklet. We were very traumatic looking both of us covered in blood from our clothes to our skin! I can still smell it...I could never be a nurse or Dr that deals with blood regularly!

Wearing her cool 'headband' that held the topical numbing stuff (I literally can't think of what it's called right now! I guess it is 12:49AM and I worked this morning at 6) After her 'skin went to sleep' as the Dr put it, they washed out her wound and her hair. We said she looked like Ariel cause her hair was so red...she LOVED that!

All cleaned up ready for more numbing stuff, seriously why can't I think of what it's called?

When the Dr gave her the extra shot she did awesome they didn't have to strap her down or anything she got to sit on my lap the whole time and held my hand and just barely started to clench her muscles when they finished.

Three stitches later and she is all ready to go.

Later she told us that it started stinging when they did the stitches. It was a strangely fun (albeit expensive) night, Hailey with just mommy and daddy, till 11:30 when we got home. The Dr. was really sweet he said she was his best patient all night and he didn't want to discharge her because she was so delightful...we weren't surprised. It could only have gone that well with her...she is so lovely and all sowed up, good as new!