"He came in with the thumb"

Well, we had our first emergency room visit with one of kids yesterday. Benny got his thumb smashed in a door and we were pretty sure he needed stitches. I was at work when it happened - Slade took Benny to Presbyterian Hospital in Huntersville and I met them there. Luckily, it was a short drive (about 15 minutes) and Slade was able to reassure me it wasn't that bad before I got there. In fact, Benny ate lunch in the car on the way to the ER. So I thought I was pretty calm, but when I walked into the ER waiting room, I said to the women behind the counter, "I'm looking for my husband and my son. He came in with the thumb." Then, my nervous sense of humor kicked in and I added, "I assume he'll be leaving with it." Hysterical. When I got there, Benny was lying in a hospital bed watching Teletubbies. He had a big bandage on his thumb, but otherwise looked just fine. He did look very, very small to me. Slade had checked his blood sugar and we decided not to give him any insulin even though he'd eaten lunch. In our (brief) experience with diabetes, stress can cause blood sugar to drop and I thought seeing a doctor sew up his thumb would be pretty stressful for our little guy. A big, big thank you to John Murphy, the physician's assistant who did the deed, and to nurses Tracey and Shellie who had the unpleasant task of making sure Benny stayed still during. They kept telling me he was doing great, even though he looked to me like he was about to freak out (me too!). After the stitches were in, Shelli showed me the "papoose" they sometimes have to use to hold little kids still. I'm glad he didn't have to be restricted like that, but I can see how it happens. His blood sugar was pretty steady - it turned out to be a good idea to skip his insulin dose just then. They sent us home with some antibiotics and Benny's thumb wrapped up in a huge green bandage. It's like a Hulk thumb on this little 2-year old hand. They gave us the left-over roll of green bandage; I think they knew Benny would like playing with it. It came in handy later when Lea told us she needed a bandage too (of course!). So we're doing okay - the stitches will come out in about a week. Slade said he could do it himself. I'm sure he could. My husband is the youngest of five boys and his parents thought duct tape made a pretty good bandage. Even so, I'll be calling our pediatrician today to make that appointment.