ER

Things that went right today:

1) A pet groomer that comes to my house. How awesome is that?

2) My nasty cold is almost gone

3) Painted my fingernails purple for fun

On Friday night as the pizza was arriving and shortly before we were due to take the family to the movies our plans took a sudden turn. We heard a door slam followed by screaming and ran upstairs to find blood. A lot of it. Coming from my five year old son's finger. We couldn't see it very well but could tell it was pretty bad so we wrapped it up in a towel and dashed to the urgent care nearby. As the doctor there unwrapped the towel her shocked expression told the tale. It was worse than we had initially realized. The bleeding had slowed by then so we could now see that the top segment of his index finger was actually about 50% severed. The room did a little spin for me as I absorbed what I was seeing. My poor oldest son who was there was also stunned. He wants to be a doctor someday and as such has seen a lot of surgeries and things, but this was hard even for him to see because it involved his little brother. The urgent care people assessed quickly that this was beyond their ability to treat at their facility. So we had to get back in the car and drive him over to the hospital 15 minutes away. This was one of the longest drives of my life. As much as the dr had tried to be reassuring it was evident she was not sure what was going to happen to his finger. That it was serious. And I had to stay focused and drive. My eldest had given our little patient a quick priesthood blessing in the urgent care parking lot which had done a lot to calm my nerves, but it still took all of the courage I could muster to smile back at my sweet guy and tell him not to worry. That Mommy was there and it was all going to be ok. He was so scared, but amazingly brave. Braver than I felt inside for sure. At the emergency room of the hospital the staff there got him right in and immediately called in a plastic surgeon to do the repair. While waiting for him to arrive an x ray revealed that the tip of his finger bone was also broken. All in all we were there for about 6 hours but at the end of those we came home very grateful. First for tender mercies and a competent surgeon. With such a severe cut we had feared the worst in terms of recovery. But by a miracle the break was above the growth plate and joint so should heal fine with no lasting damage and we are pretty sure the cut bypassed the nerves. So while it is still too soon to tell, he will more than likely regain full mobility and most of the feeling in his finger as well. He will need some hand therapy sessions for sure, but should make a full recovery with no more than a nasty scar that he can brag to his friends about at school. As frightening as it was, it could have been so much worse. It hurts to see your children hurting, but my heart is full of gratitude today that my little one will be alright.

I am also so thankful for the wonderful staff at the hospital. I cannot say enough to describe how good they were to us. They brought my son toys and made him laugh. They held my hand. They brought us food. They were so kind and warm and loving. There were not just medical professionals...they were true caregivers. If I had to spend 6 hours in a hospital that night I couldn't have asked for a nicer group of folks to spend it with. They made me feel calm and safe even in a scary situation. I will always love them for that gift.