Staples Are Better Than Stitches

Scott took many of the children snow boarding over the long weekend. They arrived home yesterday evening. Andrew came in first and went straight to the shower. Nate came in next and said, "Okay Mom, don't freak out or anything, but Andrew got cut up with the snow board. Oh, and there was blood everywhere, but he's fine now." How am I suppose to react to that. I don't think I over react in injury cases. I'm a trained EMT.

After Andrew exited the shower I asked to see his injury. He had a about a two inch gash on the left side of his head. It was not bleeding but it was gaping. Andrew said he felt all right and did not want stitches. Well what is a mother to do? I took him to Urgent Care. On the way there Andrew began to hyperventilate. He did not want stitches under any circumstances. Fortunately we had a very nice nurse and she helped us take a photo of the injury. She explained what would happen and told Andrew he probably would get staples instead of stitches. As soon as she left Andrew let me know that he did not want any staple stuck in his head. After the numbing gel and shots of a local anesthetic Andrew received 9 staples. He was surprised that he did not feel any of them. Of course we took another photo of the staples before we left. On the ride home Andrew told me that it was not as bad as he had imagined it would be.

I'm just glad that Andrew was wearing a hat or the cut would have been worse. I'm also grateful he was not cut on his face or other unprotected area. The injury could have been a lot worse. I am grateful for life's little blessings.