A roller-coaster ride

Oh! what a weekend it has been. I  landed at the parent's place in B'bay yesterday and boy I am glad that it was nearly uneventful. It has been a test of my nerves since Friday last.

Like any other evening, I was at the play area with R on Friday evening. R was his usual self, running and scampering around, with me close at his heels. It was nearing time to head back home when R wanted to play a little extra on the standing merry-go-round. No sooner did I place him down back on the ground than he shot off in a run. My friend N and her son V (around R's age) were a feet away and she beckoned him. It was that split second's delay that decided the course of the rest of the evening. I waited just that much time to see if R went to her before rushing off to run after him. By then it was little too late. R dashed off from underneath the slide and darted towards where some older kids were rocking pretty fast on the swing. He missed getting hit from one on coming swing only to get hit by the next one. I was almost there to hold him but was unable to save him from the blow. Oh! how this scene replayed later in my head several times and how I wished I was swifter.

R let out a cry immediately and I covered his head at the area where he got hit. My head was already swimming. Someone told me to sit on the bench nearby. As I sat down, I noticed the blood on R's head. My friend N told me to rush to the doctor's and offered to accompany me. I gladly accepted her help and we rushed on her two-wheeler to a clinic that was nearby. I could have taken the car. This was precisely why I wanted to learn to drive- help myself during emergencies. Of course I had not taken into account another important factor that is needed during such times. Enormous control over one's emotions and a cool head. I was not prepared in this faculty. I was just thankful for the friend's presence and hoped to God desperately that nothing was serious. R had meanwhile stopped crying but the blood was still oozing. It was not profuse but enough to scare me.

At the clinic, we were immediately shown into a ER where some nurses examined the wound. R began to holler here. I imagined he was in pain again but in hindsight I gathered that it was probably due to the hospital atmosphere and also innate skill of sensing an abnormal circumstance that kids have. I was tense and it was showing. I kept asking the nurses several times about the seriousness of the injury.

"Its a cut, will require stitches"

"stitches??..oh that serious..is it very deep..how many stitches?"

"The doctor will have to see. The orthopedic is seeing another patient, he'll will come. Did he have any vomiting or dizziness after the injury?"

 "No. No vomiting or dizziness.When will the doctor come? Is it not an emergency?"

"He'll come. It is not very serious. We do deal with such cases everyday. Don't worry."

I had three glasses of water meanwhile and was struggling to calm R whose decibel levels were jangling my nerves further. My mind resembled a question mark and was unable to muster faith in the words of the nurse, all the time doubting the capability of doctors and staff because no one showed any sense of urgency in attending to the case. Just then a pediatric came in and explained to me that since the head region has multiple layers of nerves and cells, even a slight injury can cause blood to flow. The area is in that sense cushioned by so many layers and only if the cut was very deep or it was compounded by vomiting/nausea/dizziness/convulsions there was cause for worry. My mind regained a sense of calm after this and we waited for the orthopedic to attend to the wound. R was also much calmer than earlier and was even talking. The ortho arrived after a couple of minutes and he pronounced the need for one stitch. He explained that he would give local anesthesia and then stitch. R began to cry again and refused to sit still. I thought he was scared and suggested that I held him while the doctor did the needful. But this was not to be. R kept jumping on my lap and shaking his head and I, with all my might too, was unable to calm him and hold his head in one position. The nurses and the doctor decided that it was enough and the nurse brought out a blanket, wrapped R in it, placed him in a lying position and three of them held him tight on the bed. Phew! we were all glad when it was over. Bandaging seemed quite impossible after this and so the doctor just sprayed an ointment that would produce a thin film over the wound and asked me to keep the area dry.

Just as we got over this episode, R sprained his arm on Sunday evening. I had called two of my friends along with their family over for the usual navaratri "vettalai paaku". R was playing ringa-ringa-roses with A and A's dad. He sat down before everyone finished with "all fall down", so A's dad just gave a little tug to his hand to lift him up and R began to cry soon after. He generally doesn't cry without any reason so we were all concerned when the crying didn't stop after repeated distractions. It was not a non-stop cry of pain. He would whimper for a while and then accelerate for a while. Suspecting a sprain we took him to the ER of the hospital where he usually takes his vaccines. They took an X-ray to rule out any dislocation and thankfully when none were found, prescribed a gel for the sprain.

The weekend was packed with enough hospital visits, though I can't thank God enough that they were not grave. Only, it had me a little jostled and worried about the flight I was to take with R alone to B'bay on Tuesday. Well, let me say we came in one piece without any more drama. R seems to be missing the familiar surrounding and his dad. He is not even moving well with his pati whom he had just met and adjusted to well a month ago. He's unusually clingy, quiet and not in his elements but he brightens upon seeing my niece S who is just a year older to him. So, hoping that he would settle in a couple of days.

10 comments:

  1. hope R gets well soon...
    around two months back, i had cut as well as fractured my left hand ring finger... on seeing my sling, my uncle(mausaji) said some nice words to cheer me up... a smooth road can be quite boring at times... hence it's good to have bumps and jerks once in a while!!

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  2. Ooops! Hope the cut heals soon and kutti-paiyaan R is back to form.. have to agree with Radhika on a smooth road being boring:) cheer up!

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  3. Hey Uma, lots of get well wishes coming R's way, and hope you both get to relax a bit while at your parent's place! The swing in the playground is always a scary item for me because of the kids who push it to the extreme limit. Have had some close shaves but nothing close to your experience - I can just imagine how traumatic it must have been ! Glad you and R came through ok, poor guy so many shocks in quick succession for him, hope he gets back into his groove and has a good holiday. How long are you in B'Bay?

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  4. Radhika: Thanks Radhika..R is OK now..
    ooh..hope the finger is better now..
    ya..some 'light' bumps are ok..:-)

    Vidya: the cut is better,almost healed, though the stitch will have to removed by end of this week..there is no pain, so R was back to form the next day itself..thanks..:-D!!!

    Aparna: Thanks a lot Aparna! ya..did have close shaves but this time it went further..thankfully we were spared with a small cut..R is just getting accustomed to a new place with lots of new people. Am seeing a new 'insecure' side of him that was non-existent earlier..:-)
    will be here until Diwali..yet to comment on your vac post..time is just flying here..

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  5. Oops Uma, can understand ur state of shock and anxiety. Poor fellow!!! Hope he gets well soon and back to his usual self. Good luck and wishes winging their way to u :)
    Hope u have a good long holiday in Bby. It must be pretty humid there na, Oct is generally a bad month?
    Your doc is right abt checking for vomiting/dizziness etc - those are the red warning signs.

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  6. Aparna: thanks a lot Aparna! need all the good wishes. R is down with some rashes and fever that comes on and off. He is on med. He goes in and out of his usual self, not letting me off his sight when not..so, sigh! am waiting for normalcy..:-)
    it is quite sultry during the day while the evenings and early morngs are pleasant.
    are you back from your vac?

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  7. It's tough when kids fall sick. He must be feeling lousy. Poor thing. Anyway am sure with everyone fussing over him he'll be better in no time. yes I am back from the short break.

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  8. yeah Aparna..he's going in and out of his cheerful normal self and it pains me to see him like this. yet to comment on your vac post..will do it soon..

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  9. My heart was in my mouth when I came to the part of him running past the swings....thank goodness it wasnt worse than this. Oh Uma u must have gone into shock and it was a good thing u had a friend with u.

    My husband is always paranoid about the children getting hurt and I always tell hime to relax. But he says 'just a moments carelessness leads to so much heartache which we cannot undo, its better to be extra vigilant'.

    Hope lil R is fine now!!!!!

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  10. Nancy: yeah Nancy, I was more shaken than R. His cut has healed now. Even I don't like to be paranoid but when such things happen, you wish you were more careful, although it is only so much you can do at times.

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