A Run-In With the Driver

You all probably know that Taigen is a golfer. It's a wonderful & relaxing pasttime for him when he can get out on the golf course. The kids have also taken a liking to it. They have a set of clubs that they got eons ago from our dear friends Mike & Brenda. Every once in a while, Marshall and Shaylen pull out Taigen's practice matt and practice balls and launch a few into the yard. They typically remember to draw a nice, big square around the practice area so that no one gets whacked in the head. The key word in that phrase was "typically."  They typically remember. This weekend, they did not.

I was at the church working on secretarial stuff. I had been particularly busy and didn't wrap things up until close to four o'clock. I got in the van and was on my way home when I got a call from Taigen.

"Can you stop by the store and pick up some Band-Aids?"
"Yes. We needed to get some anyway."
"Make sure you get some big ones. All we have are those little dot ones. Those aren't big enough."
"Okay." Pause. "Why? Who got hurt?"
"Shaylen. I don't think it's bad though." I can hear the reassuring tone in his voice. Don't panic, Crystal. Don't panic. "We just need big Band-Aids."
"What happened?" I ask.
"Shaylen got hit in the head by a golf club. Marshall's driver. She got in the way of Marshall's upswing. I don't think it's too bad, but it's a head injury and so it is bleeding pretty badly."
"Do you think she needs stitches?"
"I don't think so, but I'll let you make that judgment call when you get home."

I blitzed to Wal-Mart and was in and out fairly quickly. When I came home, Shaylen was sitting on a non-cloth chair and Taigen was rinsing out a cloth to re-apply to her head. There was blood on her shirt, and her pants had already been changed. I took a look. Thankfully the big mess was already gone, or I might not have been able to take a good look. Blood makes me squeamish. Blood makes me faint. The cut was not large. Maybe the size of big blueberry. It was still bleeding, so we covered it back up. I didn't think she needed stitches, but she definitely did need cleaning up. There was blood all in her hair, on her face, on her clothes and arm. I put a Hello Kitty band-aid on it and went upstairs to start her bath.

After getting her all cleaned up, the moisture had loosened the Band-Aid. Blood was still trickling. I rinsed it off one last time, dabbed it dry, got her out of the tub and took another look. The wound was deep. It was deeper than I liked and I thought, "They [the doctors and nurses at the ER] are going to think I'm a bubble-wrap parent, but I think they need to take a look at it."

Taigen had been mowing the lawn when all of this happened. Now before you pass judgment on him that he wasn't watching the children, I want you to know that he was. He would mow, look up, mow, and look up. It was during one of those "mow" times that the swing happened because when he looked up, Shaylen was holding her head and crying. It all happened in a split second! Upon closer inspection, there was blood dripping down her arms. Uh oh.

So while Shaylen had been in the bath, Taigen was finishing up his mowing job. I called to him from the upstairs bathroom window and told him that I thought I ought to take her in. It was deeper than I had originally thought and it was still bleeding pretty badly. He agreed, Marshall started worrying, I got Shaylen dressed. My Peanut and I headed in.

Of course, something like this would have to happen on a Saturday when the doctor's office isn't open. Of course, it would happen on a Saturday when we're trying to prepare for Sunday. But of course, the Lord knew. Thankfully the ER wasn't packed with people and we were seen immediately. The doctor was super-child-friendly with Shaylen and informed us of the three options: butterfly bandage (probably wouldn't do it's job), glue (would probably not hold it properly), or stitches (his personal recommendation if it was his daughter). Shaylen started tearing up, but not crying or bawling, for which I was thankful. She's always been the braver of the two (Shhh, don't tell Marshall). The doctor started by numbing & cleaning it. Food Network was on the little television in the room so Shaylen was fascinated (distracted?) with the (muted) cooking competition. She had to get four shots. The numbing had helped, but she could still feel some of the pain. She didn't cry, but her eyes overflowed a few times. I think I teared up too! My poor baby! Shaylen got an inside stitch and three exterior stitches. We got done around 8:15. The hospital staff was impressed with Shaylen and proud of her bravery. I was proud of her too.

This picture was taken the following morning. Sorry it's blurry. You get the idea though. There was really no bruising or swelling. She's my toughy.