Not Every New Adventure is Worth Taking

We had a steady stream of visitor-friends all day long. It was fun, but boy was I tired; I only took a half hour nap.

When Daddy finally came home I went upstairs with him to help him get out of his work clothes. I got a little bored and went into the bathroom to see what I could find. I'm too short to see over the counter by I think my fingers are getting longer because I was able to reach pretty far back.

Suddenly something bit me.

It really really hurt. It must have been bad, too, because I've never seen Daddy freak out like that. He called to Mummy, "He grabbed my razor!"

The next few minutes were a bit of a blur. Mummy was trying to clean me up and bandage me up and Daddy was trying to help but really freaking out. There was blood on Daddy and blood on the floor and I think some drops landed on my pants. Mummy held my finger tightly and keep it above my head; I hated that she wouldn't let me move my arm the way I wanted to, and I didn't like how tightly she was holding my finger.

It really hurt.

Daddy frantically called the first Kaiser number he found, but it was the wrong one. I think he was so anxious that he didn't hear Mummy tell him that the 24 hour nurse hotline was on the sticker on our cards. Finally he did find the right number, by which time they had given me some Tylenol and wrapped my finger in gauze instead of just toilet paper. While Daddy described the incident to the nurse Mummy distracted me with the buttons on the microwave, my vitamin bottle, and the angel magnet on the fridge. I forgot all about my finger and didn't mind anymore that Mummy was holding my hand up in the air.

Daddy and the nurse decided that we should go to the hospital to have it checked out. Mummy and Daddy re-wrapped my finger in gauze and put a finger condom on it to keep everything in place. We grabbed a bag of frozen peas to keep my finger cool and off we went.

The triage nurse seemed so nice, but she only wanted one parent in. By this time it was my bedtime and I cried to see Daddy walk out the door and into the waiting room. I cried when Mummy put me on the machine to be weighed (I weigh 24 lbs now.) I cried when she took my temperature (-you would too if you had a thermometer up there.) I cried when she took my blood pressure. But at Mummy's request I did give her a hug when I left triage to go be with Daddy.

The waiting room was full of interesting people. We sat near a young man who seemed fine, and he had a Clippers jacket so we thought he was cool from the beginning. He was also sitting beside a homeless man. The homeless man seemed desperate for conversation and was very happy that Mummy talked to him. He really tried to be nice and cohearant, and Mummy said later that while he did smell like a homeless man, he didn't smell like urine. She says that it shows that he still has self respect, and that while he seems to have fallen on hard times he's a decent guy.

Finally it was our turn to get a room. We had waited an entire hour, but on safari we saw an ambulance so I know that someone needed to be seen by the doctor more than I did, and anyway, Daddy took me on walks and Mummy sang me songs so the time passed quickly. When the Doctor came to look at my finger he was very nice and smiley, but he took off the bandages that Mummy had put on, and poked at it a little. It hurt. The Doctor seemed impressed with Mummy and Daddy and said that there wasn't much that they could do at the hospital that Mummy and Daddy hadn't already done.

After he left our friend with the Clippers jacket came in wearing a hospital robe over his regular clothes. He had heard me cry and knew it was me. He came to see if I was okay. Mummy asked what was going on with him and he explained that while he's young and healthy he's suddenly weak and tired. No one knew what was wrong with him so they had just taken some blood and were going to do some tests.

The nurse took us to the room that said "Minor Surgical Procedures" where she cleaned my finger (which made me cry) and wrapped it in gauze (which made me cry.) They also put a stretchy cast-like glove-like thing over to keep me from pulling the gauze apart. When everyone stopped touching my finger and Mummy did some squats with me I started to feel like myself again.

As we waited to be discharged we played hide and jump out. We even played hide and jump out with the guy with the Clippers jacket. We said hello to everyone we saw and I said thank you to the Doctor and the nurses.

Finally, two hours after my bedtime we left the hospital. Mummy and Daddy got some Fatburger and we went home.

I'm tired, but I'm glad my parents have a well-stocked first aid kit and a lot of common sense, because my owie could have been a lot worse. It had already started to heal by the time the doctor looked at it.