In early July, we took the kids up to Salt Lake to go to Hogle Zoo. We met up with Clayton's parents, his sister Monica and her family, and his sister-in-law Rachel along with her Audrey. It started out ok, well, actually, the minute we got Winston out of the car he started running. In the parking lot of course, right in the roadway. Luckily (ha?) he fell so I could catch him, unfortunately he got a nice bonk on his forehead. A few tears and one bloody shirt later (Clayton's), we were on our way.
They set out African drums near the elephant show area for people to play on.
Winston was still a bit subdued from his fall, and didn't put his heart into it like I thought he might. Normally, he freaking loves drumming.
You can see his sad little head in these shots. Notice, however, that his forehead is still shaped correctly. Foreshadowing. (Get it? Foreshadowing? Forehead? Ok, dumb.)
Kathy, Eleanor, Natalie and Rachel flashing gang signs. That's what you get when you invite your So-Cal relatives.
Well, this is where the group candids and any animal shots end. Clayton had to leave us to attend a meeting in downtown Salt Lake so we went inside the covered building to watch Rocky the polar bear. We let Winston out of his stroller and he takes one, two steps then trips over a kid and falls flat on his forehead. Again, for the second time in about 3 hours. It was that super slick, hard concrete too, and when he hit it, it sounded like someone dropped a watermelon on the floor. I raced to him and he was livid, naturally. Instantly a giant button popped up on his head. Like, a two or three inch round area that had sharply defined sides. Like this. Ugh.
A bunch of other moms came dashing over and all of us check his eyes and try to assess the damage. I am losing it. I was honestly scared that this was the bump that would make him forget everything, that he would be our special needs child. It didn't help that he had a pretty good head bonk just the month before
when he walked in front of the swings. That time he threw up and
everything, but I didn't take him in, so I wasn't going to take chances
this time around. Also, remember, he hit his head in the same spot just three hours prior! I know I sound dramatic now, and spoiler alert: he's fine, but right then I was horrified. It was such a sick fall. You could see it in the eyes of the other moms that they were freaked out too, all of them were encouraging me to take him to the hospital. Poor Winston, he was hysterical and wasn't calming down. He's never cried like that before. I left Kathy with the girls and ran with Winston to find a first aid station or Rex, who I was hoping could drive us to the hospital. Well, this was hideous for more reasons that just poor, hurt Win. If you haven't heard yet, I am pregnant, and was right in the midst of the "morning" sickness phase, so I was already nauseated and miserable. I asked a few employees, but they said there wasn't a first aid station. (There is.) I got some ice which he wouldn't let me put on his head of course. Add in an unreachable husband, triple digit weather, stress and trying to carry this very heavy two year old (33 pounds!) who is losing his mind, and it made for a pretty pathetic scene. I made it from the bears to the elephants before I had to just sit down and phone for help. I had to wait for my groups to catch up to me and then we all made it to the exits. Rex gave Winston a blessing in the car, which helped me probably more than him, then he fell asleep on the ride to the U of U emergency room (it was past his nap time, so I wasn't terribly worried about this). It was nice that there is an emergency room so close to the zoo, and one that specializes in just children!
Here is my poor boy in the car on the way there. At this point the bump had lost it's defined edges and instead had just made his entire forehead swell to twice it's size.
And a profile view, I don't have another for comparison's sake, but trust me, this is wrong.
We get to the hospital and he wakes back up and starts screaming again. He just wasn't being Winston and I was heartsick. We get sent to a room and the doctors come and check him out. His is spazzing out at everything they try to do, he wont talk or anything. I knew that for the most part they would just monitor him, but it was comforting to learn that the front of the head is best if you have to get bonked, as the skull is thickest there. They could tell it hadn't fractured and said it was ok for him to go to sleep. That they would wait a few hours and then try letting him eat. Of course, the second they leave the room, he pops up off the pillow and says in his usual cheerful voice, "HI GRANDPA!" Oh man. That kid. He proceeded to play with his toy motorcycle, check out the whole room, scoot chairs around, do all his tricks and answer every question correctly, and basically assure us that he was right as rain.
Here he is pushing chairs around. He would peek out the window there and say, "Oh! So many!" Talking about how many doctors and nurses there were.
We got someone's attention to let them know about the sudden change and so they let him have a popsicle right away. Here he is with grandpa Rex enjoying it.
Grandpa got the other half.
We still had to wait a few hours before leaving, and Rex and I were both starving, but we made it through this little adventure at the hospital. It was nice to have Rex there for support, and I learned a ton about him that I never knew. Some fascinating stories, if they were mine, I'd wear them on a shirt telling people how cool I am. But that's Rex, quiet and humble. And can I say, all the doctors and nurses were so lovely, I really appreciate what they do and what they know. And I appreciate a Heavenly Father who truly looks after us in our time of need. I am so grateful for my kids and I recognize that most people don't have such positive experiences at the emergency room. I wish I could say that I have a new found patience for Winston's shenanigans, but I think now I just have an increased knowledge of how quickly that kid can break himself. I hope his armada of guardian angels do not depend on just my faith, ha ha.
