No More Drops!

What a month it's been. We traveled to Portland on April 15th, back home on April 16th, to Spokane on April 18th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 29th, and one last time yesterday. (Each trip to Spokane is at least a 7 hour venture.) I'm so grateful to all of those who have graciously watched my other children so McKenzie and I could travel in peace and visit with the doctor without having to worry about another child's shenanigans. Yesterday, we got the news we've been hoping for: McKenzie's eyes are doing great, and she doesn't need any more drops! Yay! Plus, we don't have to go back for another checkup until October! Yay!

I'd like some news of another kind of "no drops". On April 24th, Mason slipped in the shower and split his chin open. Wanting to avoid an expensive trip to the ER, we used dermabond to close his wound. It worked for awhile... that is, until the dermabond peeled all the way off a little prematurely. On May 1st, right at the end of McKenzie's school play, Mason bent over and the cut split open again. Michael took him to Sam H's house (the friend who helped with Thomas' cut above his eye) and got some steristrips (since we didn't have any) to hold the wound closed. A few days later, on May 6th, Mason came up to me trying to put his hands in his pockets, which were velcroed shut. I helped him open his pockets and he shoved his hands in them. He turned and walked not five feet from me when he tripped and fell right on the bathroom floor, splitting his chin wide open again. This time, I gave up on frugality and self-sufficiency, and took Mason to the ER. He got eight stitches.

We returned on May 13th, as instructed, to have the sutures removed. Michael was hesitant to have the stitches taken out so soon, but I didn't want Mason to get suture marks in his skin, plus, the doctor had said to have them removed at seven days. I should have listened to Michael. On May 17th, Mason was walking in the bathroom on his way to take a bath when he slipped on the wet floor and split his chin open AGAIN! Michael put steristrips on him once more, and we are not letting him in the bathroom unsupervised at all. That poor kid. He worries me, because he climbs on everything. I see so many possibilities for him to fall every day. But seriously, what can I do? Tie him down? I don't think so. I try to keep a close eye on him, but he is an adventurous one. I'm constantly moving him to a safer position. He loves to jump. He always says to me "Watch Mom, I'm going to drop!" Then he jumps down three stairs, or off a chair, or from higher ground to lower. You get the picture.

Oh, get this: The same day that I took Mason to the ER to get his stitches, he fell out of his bunkbed somehow just after I had put the boys to bed, and suffered a concussion. (I didn't know it was a concussion at the time.) I started panicking when he was suddenly listless, his eyes didn't seem to be focusing (they looked weird), and a little bit later, he started throwing up. So, we made another trip to the ER. (Thankfully, the Davises kindly watched our kids while I took Mason to the hospital. Michael was already there, pulling call.) Mason had turned pale, and all the way to the hospital, he kept almost nodding off. I started talking to him to keep him awake, and would clap my hands when that seemed to become ineffective. He was such a good kid, trying so hard to keep his eyes open. At one point, he squeezed them shut and opened his mouth wide when I said, "Mason, open your eyes! Let me see them!" He figured it out a moment later. I was afraid that he may have bleeding on the brain, or some other terrible thing that would take him from me. I guess I freak out pretty easily. When we arrived at the hospital, he was shivering and his teeth were chattering. The nurse triaged him immediately since he started throwing up again as I was trying to sign him in. He wound up having a CT scan and was determined to be okay. By this time, his color had returned and he was responding better. He was very tired by this point, since it was his bedtime, and was finally given permission to fall asleep. We were told to keep an eye on him, but otherwise, the doctor expected him to be fine. He has been, except for his chin. What is up with that kid? (Please, Mason, NO MORE DROPS!)