Minton Family Blog: Max's Big Fall

Thursday, June 9, had been a good day. Max had slept 8 hours straight the night before...for the first time ever! He was in a good mood, cheerful and energetic. The morning went by fast, while Max played with his trains and watched the men resurface our street. I was able to get quite a bit of work done before and during his nap, which was nice. Unfortunately, I developed a migraine in the early afternoon, and since I had gotten enough work done, I decided to call it quits for the rest of the day. I laid on the floor while Max climbed all over me, squealing with delight. There's no rest when you have an active 1 year old!

In the late afternoon, when my headache was finally gone, I took him for a walk and we got the mail. When we got home, I let him play in the back yard, while I mulched the flower bed. He had a great time playing in the dirt of the garden pots...so much fun, that he was covered in a thin coating of dirt from head to toe.

When I was finished outside, it was almost 5pm. I stripped Max down to his diaper and washed his hands and arms. We sat together on an ottoman, by the sliding glass door, eating some delicious ripe mangoes. It's an ottoman that no longer fits in our living room and Max loves to sit on it and look outside. He gets up and down from it, easily, so I left him sitting there and gave him a rice cake to eat. I went to the laundry room to get some pajamas I had washed that day, intending to take him up for a bath before dinner.

All of the sudden, I heard him fall and start crying. I rushed into the kitchen and he was laying on the floor, rice cake pieces around him. I thought he would be fine at first. The ottoman is only a foot or two off the ground and there's nothing dangerous around. But when I turned him toward me, I saw a 1 inch gaping cut on the left side of his forehead. My stomach dropped. It looked so horrible! I quickly surveyed the area and could only conclude that he fell onto the metal strip that guides the sliding glass door. It isn't sharp, but it's thin. Thankfully, I got my whits about me quickly and grabbed the kitchen towel. I held him on my left side, wrapping my arm up and around to put pressure on the wound. I grabbed the phone and called 911. He was screaming so loud in my left ear, though, I could hardly hear what the lady was saying. After I gave her our address and my phone number, I was going to give him an ice pop to distract him, but I heard her say not to give him anything to eat or drink. I threw that on the counter and ran upstairs with him, hoping the TV would distract him enough so that I could hear her instructions. It worked. She told me to do exactly what I'd already done, which is to use a towel and put firm pressure on it to stop the bleeding. Luckily, I had done it so soon after it happened, that he didn't lose a lot of blood. She asked if he was displaying any warning signs that would indicate a brain injury, and I assured her that he wasn't. He was alert and acting normal. She said the paramedics would be there shortly. I quickly called Travis and filled him in. I told him I'd call him with the details of where they were taking us. We made our way downstairs, unlocked the door and waited for them. I let Max watch Winnie the Pooh on the iPad, which kept him calm.

The emergency personnel arrived within 5 minutes and they checked him out. They wrapped his head and helped us get our things together quickly and we headed out to the ambulance. They got his car seat out of the car and we strapped Max in and headed to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta-Scottish Rite. I called Travis and my mom and they said they'd meet us there. Thankfully, playing a game on the iPad kept him calm and he even took a little nap on the way there. The EMT said it was fine since he hadn't shown any signs of concussion earlier.

Travis beat us there, and when we arrived, we were directed to ER room 47. Nana and Papa arrived shortly after we got there and they took turns being in the room. Even though the rule is only 2 adults, the staff was very accommodating and allowed us to have 3. The EMT stayed until they could see us. We had to wait a while because a helicopter arrived with a child, just as we were going in. We were actually 3rd in line. We let Max play on the iPad, and Nana lent us her fun bracelet for Max to play with. We put it around his Lambie's neck and made him dance and jump around, which kept him occupied. At one point he really wanted to get down an walk around and Travis held him and showed him all of the neat stuff in the room, which kept him happy for a while.

We finally met our nurse, Sarah, and she put some LET anesthesia cream, which contains Lidocaine, Epinephrien, and Tetracaine. It helps stop the bleeding and numb the area. After it had been on the cut for 30 minutes, Dr. Harper came to see us. He explained everything that was going to happen and what to expect. He asked if we wanted to help hold Max down or if he should get more reinforcement. Travis and I both agreed that we wanted to be the ones to do it. We laid him with his head at the bottom of the bed and the doctor lowered the foot and raised the head of the bed, so that Max's head was much lower than his feet. I held Max's arms and torso and Travis held his legs. A nurse held his head, and the doctor placed a blue cloth over his face, with just a hole exposing the cut. That, for me, was one of the most difficult parts. He was hysterical and confused and couldn't see anything. As the doctor started closing the cut, I talked to him so he could hear my voice, and then began to sing Old MacDonald to him. Nana and the nurse joined in, and it helped some. The stitches on the sides of the cut seemed to hurt him the worst, and it seemed to take forever. We went through all of the animals and had to start over again since we ran out.

When Dr. Harper had finished the stitches, he applied glue over the wound to make it waterproof. He explained to us that on days 3-7 of the coming week we have to use a soapy washcloth and rub the wound, 3 times, 3 times a day, to get the glue off and the stitches out, otherwise there would be pock parks from the stitches. He said that Max could take a shower and that we should keep him on a schedule of Tylenol or Motrin for pain. We asked for a dose at the hospital to make sure he was comfortable on the ride home.

By the time he was finished, it was around 8 and Max was hungry! They gave him a blue ice pop and within minutes he was bouncing happily in my lap, no sign of being traumatized by what he had just been through. I also had some Cheerios in the diaper bag. When we offered them to him, he grabbed them by fistfuls and shoved them into his mouth.

After some paperwork, we left the hospital around 8:30 and headed home. He was sleepy but stayed awake until we got home. I called and talked to his Gramma who offered loving, encouraging words and who said they would come see Max this Saturday. She will be bringing some special scar cream that is highly recommended. Max is so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents!

When we got home, I walked into the kitchen and saw that the green ice pop I had opened had melted all over the counter making a huge mess. I cleaned it up and fixed him a cut up corn dog and yellow squash for dinner. He gobbled up the corn dog, drank lots of milk and wouldn't touch the squash. While I fed him dinner, Travis went to get him Motrin, since we were almost out. We gave him a bath and finally got him to bed around 10pm.

It was difficult for me to fall asleep. I kept replaying everything that had happened. When sleep finally came, it was restless. All I felt like doing was holding and cuddling him...keeping him safe through the night. I was glad when he finally woke at 2:30. He was pushing his head into the corner of the crib, like he sometimes does to feel snug, and I think it hurt the cut, which woke him up. We gave him another dose of Motrin, I nursed him, and he went back to sleep pretty quickly. He woke again at 6am, I nursed him and we cuddled in his chair and he fell back asleep. I sat there thinking about everything again. For a few moments, I let myself be overwhelmed and I began to cry. I cried partly because our baby had gotten hurt so bad, and it was awful to see him in pain...awful to see the blood pooling in the thick gash...difficult to see the little curved needle sewing up his soft, once perfect, baby skin. I also cried because I felt so blessed...an inch closer to his eye, and he could have lost his eyesight. I am so thankful for his Heavenly Father and guardian angel that kept him safe. It could have been so much worse! I kissed his sweet little cheek and put him back in his crib.

He woke for the day at 8:15 and was bright and alert...cheerful! I'm not even sure he remembers anything from yesterday. He ate a good breakfast. We made our funny faces at each other and spent the morning playing and cleaning the house. Travis suggested that I just focus on him, and work during his nap, so it was a fun morning together, without the computer!

His Nana came over around 10 and they went outside for a while, while I continued to clean the house. He got to help her water the flowers and clean off the front porch, which he loved! After they were finished, she helped feed him a snack. He was sad to see her go, but loved the time they spent together!

Because of our dear friend Kristine, we found a lady that was interested in buying our guest bed and TV stand, so we can transform our guest room into Max's big boy room. She and Kristine stopped in around noon. Max wasn't his usual self, since it was naptime, but he got some lovin' from Kristine, which made him feel better.

After they left, I was upstairs putting him down for a nap, and my mom sneaked back in the house with a bouquet of gorgeous flowers and a note telling me what a good mom I am. It meant so much to me that she would do that! They were even the flowers I had mentioned I liked the best, when we were at Costco a few days ago. Like I said before...we are so lucky that Max has such great grandparents! They are all so supportive and involved!

Yesterday was a very scary day...one I hope we don't have to relive ever again! It scares me to think that he's only 1 and has so many years...so many opportunities ahead of him for accidents to happen...bikes, skateboards, cars. It just means, though, that we have to trust in God even more. I know that He is taking care of both of our babies. He loves them more than we do. I have to trust this fact...for my sanity and peace of mind. I'll admit...I've been paranoid today, but I'm working on it. I'm praying for him everyday. This parenting thing is hard. We can't do it alone. The support of friends and family make it possible. The overwhelming amount of messages and prayers helped us get through it. It takes a village, and we are so grateful for ours!

Here are some pictures from yesterday...

In the ambulance...the iPad helped so much! Thank you for such a great Christmas gift Papa! Max has a monitor of some sort on his toe...probably for oxygen or pulse.