Our Terrible, Horrible, No-good, Very bad Day!

Do you remember that book? I loved it as a kid and loved reading it to my students while teaching. We had a pretty crazy day yesterday and I kept thinking about that book.

It started with Henry waking up before 6, then Carl's truck would not start because the battery was dead. Evie woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Plus, I was feeling sick still with my cold. That was just a warm-up!

Henry fell into the hearth of our fireplace and cut his lip. There was so much blood and a gash that needed some medical attention! Carl took my van to work since his car would not start so I was without transportation. Henry was screaming, Evie was upset and I was trying to keep it together. Carl was in a big meeting over an hour away so he was out of touch.

Our house was a disaster, none of us were dressed and now I needed to figure out how to help Henry. I called a friend and she jumped in the car right then and scooted over to my house. I called another friend to come over to take Evie and she agreed that Henry needed stitches.

Henry had calmed down at this point. Evie thought it was great fun to go play with friends and I was relieved that we were on the way to get some help. Everything happened so fast! After Evie left, I put everything in the diaper bag that we might need and called the pediatrician. That was the most frustrating part because I was on hold forever . . . it felt like forever anyway while waiting to find out where I should take him. Most pediatricians do not stitch anymore so they suggested an Urgent Care owned by four emergency room doctors.

Heidi helped me load Henry in the car which he loved because it was his first time sitting forward facing. He was all grins and giggles and I felt so much better that everything was going to be okay. Henry's bleeding had slowed down and I knew everything would be okay.

Physician's Urgent Care in Franklin provided outstanding care for Henry and kept me in the loop. It took three of us to hold Henry down but he did really well considering he had no idea what was happening and it hurt. Dr. Allen was professional and empathic and knew just what to do.  Henry had two quick stitches and they sent us on our way! I know this will not be the last trip for stitches.

Here's a  few things that I learned:

   1) Extra car seats at home might not be a bad idea even cheap ones.
   2) Keep an extra diaper bag packed with essentials in case of emergency.
   3) Be sure all of your important numbers are in your phone. I added a few more last night because you just never know who you can reach in case of emergency.
   4) Write down an emergency plan with directions to your house. It's hard to think of right turn, left turn when your child is bleeding.

It was interesting to see how my everyday worries just went right out the window because all that mattered was making sure Henry was okay. Evie took off without me, without shoes, without lunch and you know what she was just fine!

Carl sure was surprised when he finally got out of the meeting and found out what happened to Henry. He came home to check on Henry, jump his truck and I left to deliver dinner to a family with a new baby. Thankfully, I had made dinner the night before and it kept me calm to stay busy while waiting for Carl. Then, Carl felt sick and he left for Physician's Urgent Care too. He has a staph infection in his ear and was prescribed two prescriptions.

When it rains, it pours so we should be good for awhile after yesterday! I am just so thankful Henry is okay and so appreciative of all the help provided to my family yesterday. People dropped everything and rushed to help me with my family. Kindness goes a long way and we feel so fortunate that everything worked out. I am counting on today being a much better day!