Adventures of an almost-2 year old

If you haven't heard me talk about the shenanigans of my youngest son, Brad...I'd be amazed! From the time he was VERY young, we knew he was going to the adventurer of the group. He always had bumps and bruises and was never afraid to climb or fall. Well, last night, he finally had his first (and, yes, I anticipate more) trip to the emergency room!

We had just gotten done eating lunch and I was in the process of calling John to ask him a question when out of the corner of my eye I see Brad trip and land face first into our coffee table. I quickly hung up the phone to get him but didn't really think too much of it since he had done things like this before. But as soon as I got him into the bathroom, I knew it was a little more serious. Blood was gushing (!!) from his mouth and I could tell he was in some serious pain. It was all over him, me, the counter-top....eek. Poor Lilly, I was so freaked out I was yelling orders at her, "Lilly! Get me a glass of water!" "Lilly! Get me an ice pack!" (Even though she can't reach the freezer and did her best by coming back with a bag of frozen corn. Bless her heart!) He wouldn't let me open his mouth enough to see where exactly it was coming from so I called John and told him he had to come home because we might have to take him to the ER. By the time John got home Brad had calmed down a little big and let John see his tongue (kind of...). It didn't look to bad, so we just kept an eye on him all day. Every once in a while, when he ate or drank, he acted like it bothered him but he was playing, took a nap, and acting fine. As we were getting him ready for bed John took him to brush his teeth. Then I hear "Amanda!" and John comes into the bedroom with this really terrible look on his face. He says, "It's a lot worse then we thought. Come look." Oh my. It was. So, after a few short phone calls John, Bradley, and I were on our way to the ER....45 minutes away.

It's amazing how God takes care of you in those situations. The whole drive up there all I could think of were things I was thankful for. Thankful that we weren't taking him in for something more serious. Thankful we had the money to pay for it. Thankful we had someone to watch the other children so I could go along. I kept saying to John, "I'm just so thankful." as he looked at me kind of weird. :) After paperwork, waiting, more paperwork, more waiting, and, yes again, paperwork and waiting, we finally got to see a doctor. Another blessing-the doctor had a great personality and Bradley really warmed up to him. At this point Brad wouldn't let any of the nurses even open his mouth. (It might have helped that the doctor came in with a popsicle for him!) And, again, another blessing was that he didn't need stitches. My fear was that he would and they were going to have to knock him out to do it. I don't think my mother's heart could have taken that. So, after the popsicle, an explanation that he'd need a modified diet for a couple days, and a prescription we were sent home.

This morning he's acting as though nothing's bothering him. He's enjoyed his smoothie breakfast and popsicle lunch! Mommy and Daddy though...we are pretty tired. Tell me, how is it that children can stay up WELL past their bed time and still be up bright and early in the morning?? I'll never know. But I'm so thankful that it wasn't worse and that he's in no pain today.

And here's a tip that might save you a trip to the ER sometime: The only time they worry about putting stitches in a tongue is when it is cut somewhere along the edge to prevent a forked tongue...weird thought. Brad's was in the middle and even though it was pretty deep and nasty they said it would heal up by itself.

One last note. Congrats to the Riley's on the addition of their newest little blessing! Ainsley Nicole Riley! I CAN'T WAIT to meet her. What a lovely family!

Thanks for reading!

~A