Emergency Room

First picture: Medical glove "balloon" with stitches on its forehead

Second picture: The corner of a hard wooden table

Third picture: Jude

Put 'em together and what have you got?  Bibbity bobbity boo...

Today I got a phone call at the office that I have been mentally preparing for for a very long time.  Aiyi speaking such fast Chinese that all I caught was "Ari push Jude...head broken...come home quickly...hospital!"  Of course I rushed home.  Sure enough there was Aiyi desperately cradling Jude with blood in his hair, and Ari crying in the corner saying "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"  She moved the cloth away and let me see a gaping gash perfectly in the middle of Jude's forehead about two inches long and down to the deepest layer of muscle just over the bone.  

James and I coordinated an effort to meet at the hospital.  I wanted Aiyi to stay home with Ari, but she wouldn't let go of Jude and insisted on coming.  Our MCC coworkers also met us there.  I thought I handled myself fairly well considering the circumstances.  My heart didn't leap out of my chest and I was able to watch with some amount of interest as the doctor wove his threat in and out of the gash.  Jude had to held down by four people, even after undergoing local anesthetic.  I felt very bad for him, covered in sweat and not understanding why so many people were holding him down.  I think he was more angry at being restrained than in pain because of the stitches.  The doctor had to give him two deep tissue stitches and then six on the surface.

After we came home the biggest job was to calm Aiyi down.  She was convinced that I hated her and that I would never forgive her for what happened.  She was almost crying, her heart was beating a mile a minute and she was pouring self blame on her head.  I was praying that I could understand her fast and jumbled words in order to have an appropriate response.  I assured her again and again that we didn't blame her (especially since the accident occurred while the boys were doing something that they have been warned against a thousand times) and that we feel she has done a good job of caring for them.  As much as we obviously don't want things like this to happen, it will provide a good proof for the boys that we are not just trying to scare them when we say they could get hurt.  We have comforted Ari and told him that we also don't blame him, while also impressing upon him the importance of thinking before doing something.

Jude seems to be doing alright.  We need to watch him closely this evening but there doesn't seem to be any problems.  Minor accidents make me thankful that they are minor.  He could have hit himself in many other vital places.    

What a day!  What a day!