I know some of us have not been there but most of us have…. You know… that one time you had to rush your child to the emergency room freaking out because they injured themselves in one form or another?
I have to say… this was the scariest moment of motherhood for me. My little man who was 9 months old at the time was standing at the front door with his hands on the glass watching all the cars go by.. because he’s a boy and boys are obsessed with cars (insert eye roll but laughing at the same time). Anyways, he fell and landed on his butt, but there’s this thing called inertia…. It didn’t really work in his favor this day. As soon as he fell on his butt, his top half went flying forward causing his head to literally SMASH against the corner of the door trim. When I tell you guys how insanely hectic my life got for the next couple of hours, I totally mean it in every sense! I went to pick him up and as soon as he looked at me, his forehead was vein blood blue… like the scariest blue you could imagine on someone’s skin. It was getting bigger and bigger and darker and darker and every time I looked at it, I cringed and cried harder. Thank goodness my mother-in-law was standing next to me when this happened. I don’t think I could have survived this situation on my own. We both looked at each other and I immediately said “what do I do?” she responded, “I don’t know!”. She is a first-time grandmother and I am a first-time mom so looking back at it, I laugh because we were both completely lost but obviously in the moment it was terrifying! I called the pediatrician who was closed and the recording said to call 911 for emergencies. How do you know what is a true emergency and what is not?! I called my mom who was working so she didn’t answer. I mean don’t we all call our mothers when we’re in dire need?! I then called an urgent care close to my house and explained the situation, they proceeded to tell me that since he was so little and it was a head injury that I needed to call the pediatric urgent care. So… that was my next step. I called the pediatric urgent care and the two doctors working that day both told me that they recommend that I visit an ER because since he was so little and it was a head injury which meant that he needed to have a CT done to check for internal brain bleeding. I mean… who wouldn’t completely lose all of their marbles if they were told this about their 9-MONTH-OLD baby?!
I thought I lost it before….. I’m pretty sure I was hyperventilating and crying at the same time! Who knew that was even possible?! My mother in law is trying to calm me down while also crying. I called my husband who was speedy racing home from work. I packed up the diaper bag and off we went to Toledo Children’s Hospital ER. I was freaking out on the way there trying to keep him awake on the way because you know…. kids and car rides equal naps! We get there and I kid you not… this thing was getting smaller and turning dark like a bruise.
Who knew?!
So they put us in a room and a couple of doctors come in to check on us and ask us the story and check him over. My husband and I were completely unprepared for the questions regarding his safety. They lifted his shirt, his arms, checked his back, his legs and even opened his diaper to check for diaper rash which apparently meant neglect. They then asked us questions about being afraid that either one of were harming our baby. Now I do know that this does happen and is extremely sad and something I wish never happened but I couldn’t believe that this was happening to US!
Now we all know how EASY it is for kids to get diaper rashes…. I was thanking my lucky stars he didn’t have one that day!
After numerous doctors came in to check and ask the same questions, we finally got the resident doctor who proceeds to tell me that he is fine, it is just a bruise and that it will heal. You know.. sometimes they get worse before they get better type of speech. I start crying just solely on the fact that I am relieved that he is okay! They didn’t need to do a CT scan because it was swelling on the outside and he was acting completely normal. The next question made us all laugh. We were asked if we were first-time parents!!
You know the old age story that we will freak out over the little things with the first kid but the second kid we just brush everything off? As soon as I said yes, she said that explains the tears and reassured me that he was fine.
Looking back, I totally can see why my friends and family who I told this story to thought that, that question was rude, but I also get it! At the time, it actually made me feel better knowing I freaked out but he was okay.
I know as mothers we dread moments like these and looking back it’s nice to be able to laugh but I have to say, if you haven’t been through it yet- you will! And it will be CRAZY! It will be an adrenaline rush! It will be EMOTIONAL! BUT… you WILL get through it and you will learn so much about yourself, your baby and what to do in the future.
Try not to take it personal when the doctors ask you insane questions, they’re just doing their jobs. I can promise you that one day you will look back and laugh at how insane you acted. I mean… at one point, my son laughed at me while I was bawling my eyes out. It’s an experience to say the least but I think we all need to go through it to learn a little about ourselves and the way we react to scary situations that involve our children. You will get through it, this I promise you. Hang in there, we all got this! And that baby? He will be just fine! They bounce back, they’re resilient! Maybe we should all learn how to be a little more like them!
