Mal got hit in the head with a bat Tuesday night at tee ball practice. It was pretty scary at first because there was just soooo much blood. (I'm now told that head injuries bleed A LOT). I felt like an idiot because I am usually very good under pressure/crisis but when Mal lifted his hand off his head and a sheet of blood (not a stream, a literal sheet) poured over his little left eye I got very dizzy and nauseous. It wasn't the blood it was the fact that it was coming from my child's head! Our town is not anywhere near a hospital so internally I was freaking out. I've had a sinus infection and the beginnings of an ear infection so that combined with the panic added to the dizziness and even my ears plugged up and it was hard to hear. Anyway, I feel like as a Mom in the moment, epic fail. But it is what it is. I'm human I suppose. Thankfully one of the children's father is a police officer and was ready with medical supplies and a much needed calm attitude. He told me it was a really deep cut and to take him in for stitches so one of the other team Moms drove us.
Mal was so brave the whole time. The cut was small but very deep. He ended up with two stitches below the surface (because the Dr showed me where you could see his little skull) and eight stitches on the surface. She said it will leave a scar and that for the next year we have to really plaster it with sunscreen because if it gets burnt it will stay that color pink for the rest of his life. (Grreeaaattt... no pressure or anything...)
While stitching him up he told the Dr. "You're the best girl I know" and then after she was done he wrote his phone number on a tissue and said "You can call me sometime". Lady killer, that's my boy. When we were walking out she was taking a picture with her phone of the tissue so that she could look at it and laugh on a rough day.
Stitches will come out in about a week and he has to stay out of recess and gym for two. The first night we were home we had to wake him up every two hours and quiz him to make sure he didn't have a more serious brain injury. "What's your name, what's your phone number, what are your cousins names" you get the picture. By 5am I woke him up and said what's your last name and he yelled at me "ABELL" as in, leave me alone Mom! Good, he's feisty. No brain damage here.
I will say that he suffered from his parents horrible communication skills. Rob and I have this knack for thinking we are clear with one another but really we are not. That night, come to find out, each of us went to bed thinking we were the one that would get up and quiz Mal. At 5am after climbing into bed, hearing my phone go off 15 minutes later and watching me walk out of the room, Rob realized we had both been doing it and had been waking the poor little guy up twice as much as needed! Whoops. No wonder Mal was pissed. But better safe than sorry I suppose.
Mal was so brave the whole time. The cut was small but very deep. He ended up with two stitches below the surface (because the Dr showed me where you could see his little skull) and eight stitches on the surface. She said it will leave a scar and that for the next year we have to really plaster it with sunscreen because if it gets burnt it will stay that color pink for the rest of his life. (Grreeaaattt... no pressure or anything...)While stitching him up he told the Dr. "You're the best girl I know" and then after she was done he wrote his phone number on a tissue and said "You can call me sometime". Lady killer, that's my boy. When we were walking out she was taking a picture with her phone of the tissue so that she could look at it and laugh on a rough day.
Stitches will come out in about a week and he has to stay out of recess and gym for two. The first night we were home we had to wake him up every two hours and quiz him to make sure he didn't have a more serious brain injury. "What's your name, what's your phone number, what are your cousins names" you get the picture. By 5am I woke him up and said what's your last name and he yelled at me "ABELL" as in, leave me alone Mom! Good, he's feisty. No brain damage here.I will say that he suffered from his parents horrible communication skills. Rob and I have this knack for thinking we are clear with one another but really we are not. That night, come to find out, each of us went to bed thinking we were the one that would get up and quiz Mal. At 5am after climbing into bed, hearing my phone go off 15 minutes later and watching me walk out of the room, Rob realized we had both been doing it and had been waking the poor little guy up twice as much as needed! Whoops. No wonder Mal was pissed. But better safe than sorry I suppose.
