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Staples

I love love love office supplies. Usually back to school means trips to Office Max, Office Depot, WalMart, Target and of course Staples. I buy good pens, pretty colors of dry erase markers and all things to get me pumped up for a new school year.
This year, I have managed to avoid the school supplies.....so far. I am only going back for a month or so at first anyways.

Last night, however, I bought 2 very expensive staples. They didn't come from one of my favorite office supply stores.....but instead the ER.

O had a run in with a chest and lost. We were up at a sunday school party and I had just left him playing upstairs with a few other kids. I told Shaun to go check on him in about 5 minutes.....
30 seconds later we here a big crash from upstairs followed by some screams and crying that I am sure are coming from my kid. I take off running upstairs to kiss whatever boo-boo he has.
I pick him up out of a slightly scared teenage girl's arms and start consoling him when her face wrinkles and she says there is blood. Coming from his head. O's hair is almost white at this point of the summer and there is suddenly bright red streaks near the back. I don't see a big gaping wound anywhere......and truth be told he has had bloody lips that bled more than this so I don't totally freak out. I hand him off to Shaun. ( I don't do well w/ blood) and head into the kitchen for ice and paper towels.
Shaun moves him outside and inspects his wound and says we probably need stitch or two. We load him up in the car, which causes a new fit ( he did not want to leave the party) and head for Care Now or the ER.
O has calmed down and mostly stopped bleeding so we slightly reconsider the need for a trip.....but figure it is best to get him checked out.....or at least see how crowded the ER is.
Ther ER isn't too bad, so we decide to wait. I am a little out of sorts and write the wrong name down on the forms.
They triage us within 15 or so minutes. I half expect the nurse to tell us to go home......and ask her this flat out. She looks at his wound, and says no that they way it is split will require a few staples. STAPLES...not stitches or super glue? The nurse assures me that they use a topical anesthetic and he won't feel a thing. I then ask her what kind of anesthetic they will be giving me!
We know our way around ER waiting rooms...mainly that they are lengthy stays... so I decide to go and pick up the things we left at the party (like O's shoes and our dinner) and swing by Sonic to get drinks and a grilled cheese for O. Besides the ER makes me nervous and O is playing happily making paper airplanes out of all the forms I was supposed to fill out.
I get back to the ER in time to wait another 30 minutes.........before being called back. We wait in our little room and watch the Olympics for a good hour before anyone comes to see us. I joke that they are just waiting for Phelps to race and that the dr. will come around after that. I was kidding......but 5 minutes after the race the dr. (or actually a PA) shows her face. It is well after 10:30 and I am exhausted even if Owen is still wired. She says he should get a staple or 2 and that she can do it fast. She can numb it w/ a shot first ( which will hurt and piss him off) or just do it quick (same pain factor as the numbing shot but less time).
Shaun holds him down and I hold his hand but I swear the first staple sounded like it went straight into his skull. He screamed. I cringed and she wasn't quite fast enough w/ staple number 2. Lots more screaming.......until she returned with a popsicle.
We passed on the catscan ( no way O was sitting still for that and I didn't want to sedate him).....waited on our paperwork....finished the icecream and were finally released.

Owen, atleast, will be heading back to school tomorrow with a few new supplies. Even if they are in his skull rather than his cute blue lego backback.

Comments

Alyssa said…
I love office supplies too, but not the type that they put into your body. Sure hope O heals quickly and that the staple-removal process goes more smoothly than the initial staple process.

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