We had a little 'staycation' for Spring Break this year. One of our trips was to The Waterpark of America with some good friends. We had only been swimming for about an hour when Elliott came to me crying! As he was going up the steps to a water slide, another kid pushed by him causing him to fall. Apparently, his chin hit the edge of the stair and he got a rather large gash. One look at it and I rushed him over to the first aid station, Ryan following closely behind. Elliott had already stopped crying by the time we got into the first aid room. He answered every question asked of him by the staff - in great detail, as you can imagine. Directions to the closest urgent care were quickly given to us, and after a quick change into dry clothes we were on our way.
After getting patched up at First Aid before going to Urgent Care
Elliott talked my ear off on the 15 minute drive and continued chatting as we waited to see the doctor. A nurse called us back for a quick check by a doctor to see if it was an injury they could handle there or if we needed to be sent on to a hospital. A little numbing solution was tucked under his chin and we were back in the waiting room. While filling out paperwork at the front desk, Elliott charmed the receptionist with his cute smile and non-stop talking. He impressed her with all his math knowledge (80 plus 80 is 160, etc.) and animal facts (a lynx has large paws to walk on top of the snow - like snowshoes). A few more minutes in the waiting area (where two other ladies fell in love with him and expressed their desire for a son like him) and we were finally taken back to a treatment room.
Another doctor came in and we got Elliott settled onto the table. My thought was to distract him by talking the entire time, but Elliott had his own ideas. He barely flinched when given the little shots of lidocaine, pausing briefly in what would be a good half hour of constant talking! It turns out, his doctor has a red belt in karate and also coaches soccer - they had a lot to talk about. The only trouble Elliott gave us the entire time was keeping quiet long enough for the doctor to put in the stitches! Four stitches later and some after care instructions, we were on our way.
All stitched up - enjoying a few bites of a chocolate Frosty as a reward for his bravery!
I was so proud of my little guy -- no tears and extremely cooperative through it all! He was bouncing and spinning through the parking lot on the way to the van. We stopped at Wendy's for ice cream, thinking that he would want to eat after the meds wore off. He couldn't sit still long enough to eat more than 3 bites! On the ride back to the hotel, he continued talking - deciding that he was going to make movies when he grew up, starting with Star Wars 7! Back at the water park, he showed off his stitches to his dad and sisters, and also all our friends. Because he couldn't swim again, I spent the rest of the evening in the arcade with him, playing endless games and winning large amounts of tickets. I had a hard time keeping up with him - he had so much energy. Ryan pointed out that he likely had an adrenaline rush that hadn't worn off yet!
The spiderman face distracts from the stitches on the chin!
After a short night of sleep, we continued our trip with a day at Nickelodeon Universe. His first request was to get his face painted. We managed to put it off until after lunch, when I gave in -- who wouldn't want to spoil him a bit after what he'd been through! No rollercoasters for this kid, even though I told him that if he could get stitches with no tears he was brave enough to ride the big rides!
FYI - Elliott said that was his worst day ever. And that it would never happen again because he was NEVER going back to a water park again!!! And to make matters worse, he had to follow it up with a tetanus shot at the pediatrician's the next day!
