Frankenstein.

Well it was almost seven years in the making but Thursday night we had our
(apparently required) childhood trip to the ER.

I have the luxury of a cleaner every two weeks.
The night before she comes, the six year old has to pick up her room.
All her treasures need to be on her shelves to be safe from the vacuum.

The six year old decided they all needed to be on the highest shelf. This needed a stool.
The stool tipped. She fell, smashing her head onto her wooden fort.

I was downstairs - I thought the roof had collapsed. The clatter was so loud. Then the screaming started.
At first she told me it was her foot that was hurt. I inspected it, kissed it, rubbed it and found no injury.
My relief, that she wasn't really hurt, was short lived. I popped her into my lap for a snuggle.
That's when I noticed the blood. It was pouring down the back of her head.
A quick peek confirmed my worst fear - she needed stitches.

I am a healthcare professional so my training kicked in and I calmly cleaned her up and applied ice.
I am her mother - I wanted to throw up the entire time.

I am so grateful that I have two children but trying to juggle a twenty one month old and deal with a medical trauma is not ideal. I decided not to subject the baby to the ER so we waited for the husband to get out of work and get home.

As I waved them off to the ER with my 'Everything is OK' smile plastered to my face. I fought the urge to cry, vomit and lie down on the couch in the fetal position. I still had the baby to care for.

They waited two hours to be seen. My stomach churned the entire time.
The ER was so busy they stapled my little girl's head on a gurney in the corridor.
That's right - I said stapled.
STAPLED. HER HEAD.

She came home smiling with stickers, a lolly and her prized hospital 'bracelet.'
After I settle her off to sleep, the husband and I re-live our experiences.
We are definitely more traumatized than the six year old.

It is awful to see your child hurt. It is inspiring to see how resilient they are.
In the end I felt grateful. The six year old will be fine. We have health insurance.

AND

She has the mother of all show and tell stories for Monday!