Wednesday, August 18

Lilo & ...

...Stitch.

I never saw this D1sney movie; but today, we experienced our first

{stitch}

make that three {stitches}

No, not a {stitch} in the side. Not a {stitch} in fabric. Not a knitting, crochet, or appliqué {stitch}. Not the least bit of anything

In fact, it was a significant bit of something!

Six (yes 6) contractors had just left our house all discussing the problems and potential solutions. Flooring. Air conditioning movement. Ductwork. 

Both babies decided it would be best if they woke up and I held them both while I discussed the thousands of dollars that we would eventually be spending on our house. It didn't help that Addie was all snotty either!

Everyone left. It was time to feed the girls. Some water for me. A snack for Addie. A potty break for me.

As I was attempting to obtain a little peace and quiet not to mention privacy (does that exist with a 2 year old?), Addie bounced in and started playing with things on our counter. She grabbed a glass (not a cup, a glass) and proceeded to show me that she could drink out of it. I asked her to put it back on the counter. Instead, she threw chunked dropped it in the sink. 

I admit it. I let a word fly. I was processing the house issues. I just wanted to potty. And I didn't want to clean up a mess.
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And then she screamed, and I looked down at her finger, which was 

pouring

out

blood. 

Mommy emergency mode kicks in. I grabbed toilet paper and grabbed her finger. I managed to pull myself (clothes) together with one hand. 

I released the pressure a tad to look at her finger only to find a huge gash underneath...

pouring

out

blood

First aid kit under the counter. Safety release to get to it. Gauze pad. Rip open with teeth.bIMG_2589
Pressure.

Grab finger bandaids (the ones with little fingers on them that can wrap around knuckles and such). Grab more gauze. 

Drag screaming 2 year old around house to find lovie and paci. 

AP crying in the bed because she's hungry. AK squirming on the floor because she's getting hungry. 

Bleeding won't stop. Gauze soaked through. More pressure. How much can you do with one hand?
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New gauze pad. More pressure. Finger band aid wrapped tightly around gash on top of gauze. Wrapped tightly right below gash.

Doctor's office on the phone. Press 1 for emergency. Tell them what happened. Hold. Hold. Hold. Hold. Hold. HOLD. Finally the nurse comes back. Bring her in.
Babies in car seats. Pacis. Lovies. Cell phone. Out the door.

Call Paul on the way. He's in training near our doctor's office, but the problem is he can't leave the training! I ask him to come during their lunch. He meets us there. 

Nurse can't even get band aid off! Way to go mom! (Really...she was impressed!)

Band aid off. Once again...

pouring

out

blood.

New gauze. Mom keep putting pressure on it. 

Dr. Blakney, Addie's hero, comes in. You see, anytime anything is broken, hurt or pretend hurt; it has to go to Dr. Bwakney to get bettew. She applied pressure right below the wound to try to look at it. 

Do you know how hard it is to get a 2 year old to 1.) understand why you're doing something 2.) why it hurts and 3.) to move a very small portion of their finger while extreme pressure is being applied to another portion? We told her to push Dr. B's finger away. To point. To wiggle it. To make Dr. B's finger go away. To push against the paper (gauze). Why all that fuss to get her to move it? To see if she had cut through tendons. Yes. Tendons people. That's how deep this cut was! And that would mean a visit to the OR, not the pediatricians office!

The good news: thankfully she accidentally moved it. The bad news: 3 stitches needed. The worst news: they would have to do a digit block to numb it. That meant a series of small shots in the base of her finger before they could stitch it.

Dr. B had 3 patients left to see, and she didn't want to be rushed with Addie. She's the most amazing doctor. So it was back to putting pressure on that finger. Do you know how cramped your finger gets after holding it pressed in one place for almost an hour? Thankfully Paul took over half way through while I quickly fed the babies. AP decided it would be the perfect time to completely blow out the back of her diaper up her back. Seriously. Yuck!

Dr. B comes back in and Daddy takes the little girls out. Addie sat in my lap facing me with her arm stretched out on the table. Dr. B got down on her level and told her she would always tell her the truth, and that this would sting and not feel good. Addie listened with her big eyes wide watching Dr. B intently. After the fact, Addie said it stemmed (instead of stinged...i know that's not a word but you know what i mean).

I thought the worst part for all of us would be the lidocaine shots in the base of her finger. It was hard to watch, but she really did pretty well. She cried something serious but didn't fight me. 

And then midway through she says it...

No, no Dr. Bwakney, don't do that. Please stop. 

Oh. My. Word. Rip. My. Heart. Out!

Finally blocked...we hope.

So we settled in to wait for it to take affect.

But once again, it's not easy to determine if a 2 year old is mad that you're putting extreme pressure on her finger or if she's in pain. We determined she could still feel it though, so more shots. Good grief. She's like me in that way...it takes a serious amount of pain or numbing meds to put a dent in anything for me! Oh the tears!

And the stitching begin. Dr. B said there and I was like you're done? Not so lucky. She'd only put one in. It got worse from there. Addie was screaming and had her knees in my stomach. Her finger was bleeding so badly that Dr. B could hardly see it. There was blood everywhere. The nurse would wipe it, Dr. B would jab that hook in they use for sutures, and it would pour out more blood. Addie was furious that her arm and fingers were being held down. I was fighting back tears because I just felt awful for her! And although I never told them, I was weak as all get out because I was starving!

She's finally done. It's still bleeding, but they determine it's where they sutured it. It finally stops bleeding, over 2 hours after it's happened. 
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And Addie looks up at Dr. B and says...

Thank you for helping me Dr. Bwakney. Thank you for making my finger better.

She continues to settle down as they clean up and bandage it up. And she looks up at me again and says...
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That's Dr. Bwakney, she's my fwiend. 
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Amazing that Dr. B can keep a friend even after she's given her no less than 10 sticks that sting like crazy and 3 stitches. I sure to love this little girl!

She hops out of my lap. Gives Dr. B a hug. Tells her thank you again and to have a good day! and bounces down the hall like she hasn't skipped a beat!

As I was putting her in the car, she says:

I'm sorry I cut my finger Mommy!

Me too Little Bit. Me too!

And we stopped for lunch. Came home and I fed the babies. My mom came to watch the little girls when they woke up from their nap. And Addie and I took a 2+ hour nap.
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And right now she's dancing around the living room like a butterfly!

I just thought I knew what exhaustion was!

Tonight, I will be cleaning out all glass glasses from our cabinet and placing them on the top shelf until we no longer have any 2 year old or younger little girls in this house!

*disclaimer: i did not take any of these pictures until after we returned home! i maybe crazy about blogging, but i'm not a crazy blogger!

**disclaimer 2: first picture courtesy of Disney

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways
Psalm 91:11

6 comments:

  1. oh honey, i'm so sorry. i'm sorry about all the contractor/house mess you're having to deal with, i'm sorry your day went completely nuts, and i'm especially sorry that poor addie-boo cut her finger and it "stemmed".
    i'm so sorry!

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  2. Oh. My. Word. My finger is hurting from reading this!!! So glad she's better!! Good job on the first aid! I need to go and get my first aid kit together!!

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  3. Dr. Mendy is the best!!! We love her too (and she lives across the street). Wishing Addie a speedy recovery. Her comments were so sweet afterward. She's getting to be such a big girl.

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  4. Oh my goodness, Anna. You are amazing! I don't know how in the world you held all of that together. I think it's safe to say that you are acclimated to life with 3 girls! :-) I'm so sorry that all of this happened. Please let us know if we can do anything for you guys.

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  5. First of all I am so sorry that all of this happened but you are a amazing story teller! I felt so sorry for poor Addie but you make me laugh with your descriptions you really should write a book you know in all that free time you have! You are a amazing mom and a inspiration to us all!

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  6. Oh I am SO glad she's ok! poor thing!

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