Friday, June 10, 2005

Under Fire

Image hosted by Photobucket.com I don't know how the rest of you are in a panic situation, but I'm no good at them. I haven't had that many in my life (THANK GOD) but the ones I have....well... let's just say...I'm useless.

Today, C, the guy who works for Gary was working by himself across town while Gary was at another jobsite. I was working at my desk when there was a knock on the door. Chloe started barking. "Come in!" I holler and I heard C say "Hey Chloe. Um... Sheri... I think I split my head open". Oh good Lord, any happy feeling I had instantly turned to an ugly sick pit in my stomach. I ran out into the kitchen and here he was with his shirt on his head, blood dripping off his Image hosted by Photobucket.comnose, down his face, onto his arm. Christ, even his glasses were full of blood. "Can you look at this?" he says and starts to take the covering off his head. "NO!! STOP!!! Mmmmoommm! Come here quick!!" I yell. My knees are weak, I think I'm going to puke, just the thought of looking at a split head makes me want to faint. Of course, my mom comes out (she lives in a place attached to our home), she's all cool and collected, removes the covering, looks it over, declares he IS going to live and helps him clean it up. It turns out it was a puncture in the top of his head from a nail and yes, it did bleed profusely, but most head wounds do (or so I hear).

The same thing happened when Hannah was little and crawling and fell down the stairs. I froze. Gary, who normally moves like a sloth, turned into Lightening Dad... full of Knowledge Dad, the all Calming Dad.... while I'm standing there blubbering like an idiot. When she split her chin on a bowling ball, he was able to calm her down, declare that she needed stitches, take her to the emergency room and hold her hand through it, while I had to leave the room because her cries and tears were breaking me down. However, when she hurts herself...I'm the one she calls for and I try so hard. I really try to hold it together and be there for her but her 'hurt' cries rip my guts out to the core. Any mother can tell her child's 'hurt' cry. It is so different from the one you hear when they are whining, tired, hungry or just cranky. The hurt one can turn your blood to ice and definitly brings out the 'mother bear' protective instinct in you.

6 comments:

Sue said...

I am just like you in this regard, I turn into absolute mush in any kind of blood involved situation. I couldn't even pull a loose tooth out of my kids mouths when they were little, I had to send them next door to the neighbors. I can't believe my two kids want to be a doctor and a nurse! They don't get their ambitions from me!

Melody said...

I'm good during the crises but when it's over I tend to fall apart...espeically when my kids are involved!

Sleeping Mommy said...

I know what you mean about the "hurt cry" it is sooo different than any other noise your child makes.

And I'm about 50/50 with emergencies. Sometimes I'm calm and cool other times I FREAK OUT.

Usually if it is my child involved and its something that seriously scares me I freak out. If its someone else I can be calm. My kids? I lose it and if my husband isn't home I'm on the phone to him calling him to come home and help me handle it.

I'm horrible.

Alison said...

I'm the opposite. I am very good in an emergency. I am calm. I am cool.

Give it 30 minutes max after everything is over and I know everyone is okay, and then I have a panic attack. Without fail.

I'm good in the emergency, but I fall apart when it's over.

Anonymous said...

Depends on the situation, I suppose. But I do tend to jump into a fire...

Willow said...

It's one of the perils of being a nurse's kid.

No matter what happens it's "Aw, go smack a band aid on it. We don't need to amputate or anything!" Alas, that didn't come in handy when hubby had part of his colon removed and I was less than sympathetic to a blubbering mess of man. (Oh come on - they're all just big babies anyway!)

He's the one that falls apart. When Kasha (who just turned 8) had just turned 2 years old, she had a vice fall onto her face. You would've sworn from teh amount of blood that she had fractured every bone in her skull and face, but you could hardly tell anything happened after a day or two. (I tell you - kids are made out of rubber for a reason!) and Mike was flipping out completely.

One of you has to stay sane during crises. Doesn't matter which one. The kids know you're there for them regardless. (Um, ok, except for when Kasha was getting numbed up to have a fishhook removed from that fleshy part behind her knee. She flinched, bent the needle and it broke off in her skin. Daddy about passed out. She won't let him live it down now. ::snicker, snort::)