[Sigh.]
It was one of those weekends. Well, it didn't start off like one of those weekends, but it quickly became one of those weekends Saturday afternoon.
Could I be more vague? I know. Sorry.
You know how the warning labels tell you not to let your kids play with exercise equipment? It's because someone, somewhere has found that out the hard way.
Like, say, us?
Saturday afternoon, in a matter of a fraction of a second, our youngest, Big T, lost part of his finger when it was pinched in the leg attachment of a Bowflex machine.
:::
I was shooting photos at a local park for a family who wanted holiday portraits. While I was shooting, my cell phone rang and I ignored it, since I was with a client and didn't want to be unprofessional. I continued snapping away, and my phone rang again. Ignored it. A few minutes later, it rang yet again. I finished up my session and quickly grabbed my phone, it suddenly occurring to me that something could be wrong. I couldn't get a hold of my husband who was with the kids. More worry. I was finally able to reach my stepdad on his cell.
"What's wrong?"
"Megan, Big T is fine, but we're at the hospital---"
"What's wrong? What happened??"
"He just smashed his finger and [Candy Ass] thought he should have it checked out."
"I'm on my way."
I headed straight to the ER, panicking more and more with each red light I hit. (And of course, I hit every red light.) Candy Ass is normally Mr. Calm, Cool and Collected in these types of situations and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if he thought whatever happened to Big T was worthy of a trip to the emergency room, then it must be far worse than a smashed finger...
I met my husband (and parents, who luckily had an extra car seat) in the waiting room of the hospital, Big T lethargic in my mom's arms, a bloody paper towel wrapped around his hand.
"I want to see what happened," I said as I leaned toward my baby to see what exactly was wrong with his hand.
"No, you don't Megan. You do not want to see."
I gently pulled the paper towel back and just about got sick, my stomach instantly in my throat at a mere glance of his tiny little finger chewed up and mangled on the end, bits and pieces still barely hanging on. Oh. My. God. They were right. I did not want to see that.
You know when you panic after-the-fact? The danger of a situation already passed but you can't help but panic anyway? This was one of those moments.
The hospital x-ray'd his finger to make sure there wasn't a broken bone and then cut off the hanging pieces and remaining nail. His little finger is no longer round, it's pointed on one side, like an arrow, a big chunk missing. No stitches, no anesthesia, nothing. There's just a big bulky wrap of gauze and polysorin to protect the open wound. And he didn't even cry.
Poor dude. And his poor brothers... they were really scared for him. At one point L-Dub said matter-of-factly, "It's gonna take a lot of glue to fix his finger!"
But honestly? Big T is fine. He's running around laughing, jumping and wild as ever while we gasp and cringe and try desperately to protect his mangled finger. I guess it could have been much worse. I suppose it's really nothing in the grand scheme of things...
But man, it's a lesson learned the hard way...
Yikes! Poor little man.
Posted by: Snapper | 24 November 2008 at 03:21 AM
OMG! I would have been totally freaking out also. Poor little guy. If he's anything like my brood he's bouncing around without a care while mommy and daddy need a drink to calm their nerves.
Hope things get better!
Posted by: Michele | 24 November 2008 at 04:03 AM
Bless his little heart! I'm glad he's okay.
My youngest did that sort of thing to me several times. Once was a slashed finger, another was an almost dismembered toe, then the infamous "hook in his eyeball". (Yeah, they told me I didn't want to see THAT too, but I didn't listen either)
Nothing like having hurt babies to rip your heart to shreds.
But the little guys are seriously SO recilient. It's amazing how tough they can be when we still see our babies.
Seriously glad he's okay now.
Posted by: Donna in VA | 24 November 2008 at 05:43 AM
Poor guy! He is absolutely precious and it's amazing how quickly little boys bounce back from these things!
I don't know how you held it together so well..My son was busted in the mouth at a pre-school I taught at, saw the whole thing, and lost my cookies once I saw how much blood we were covered in. Mucho respect to the moms who can stay sane!
Posted by: ash | 24 November 2008 at 05:48 AM
I'm glad he's doing so well, but wow, it really can rip us apart as parents, can't it? It's amazing how resiliant little boys can be. When he was about the same age, my little boy fell down the stairs and slammed his face into the edge of the wall, splitting a portion of his forehead to the bone. I was a wreck, and yet he was soon patting my arm, telling me it "...would be K, mommy."
Posted by: foradifferentkindofgirl (fadkog) | 24 November 2008 at 05:55 AM
I am so glad he is ok, and soooo sorry for the scare. Kids test us in ways we never knew possible, my son has come so close too really hurting himself too many times for comfort!
Posted by: Krissi | 24 November 2008 at 05:55 AM
Oh that poor little guy!
Posted by: nicole | 24 November 2008 at 06:11 AM
Oh, the poor little guy! He's gonna have quite the story on the playground.
Posted by: Sprite's Keeper | 24 November 2008 at 06:31 AM
My husband lost part of his index finger in a chainsaw accident when he was a teenager. Luckily they were able to repair most of it. It can be scary, but he'll have a good story to tell when he's older.
Posted by: Amber | 24 November 2008 at 06:52 AM
Oh, I would have panicked. I am so glad that he's ok!
Posted by: iMommy | 24 November 2008 at 06:58 AM
Yikes. His sad little face in the ER is more than one can stand. Glad he's doing okay.
Posted by: all things BD | 24 November 2008 at 07:04 AM
oh no!!!! i am so glad that he's doin' okay. what a trooper!!! for reals. i used to be in nursing school and i can handle a lot- but if someone i love is hurt? oh lordy, i am passed out in a millisecond. it is soooo hard to see a lil' shorty with an injury!! what a tough guy. :)
Posted by: Lo | 24 November 2008 at 07:32 AM
I saw all your tweets on this and the photos and I was hurtin' for him. OUCH. Now go sue those mother f'ers. hehe
Posted by: Rhea | 24 November 2008 at 07:53 AM
Wow! What a weekend. I'm glad he's OK - the same kind of accident happened to my daughter when she was three. I didn't hurl either, but it was so close.
Posted by: goodfather | 24 November 2008 at 08:29 AM
It really is amazing how kids don't take things as hard as we do! Oh, the stories he will have to tell when he is older!
And what is is about ALWAYS hitting red lights when you're in a hurry?!?
Posted by: Heather | 24 November 2008 at 08:40 AM
There is a special place in my heart for little boys. They just rock. Whether they lose a finger tip or not, they just keep on being boys. You have got to love that.
Posted by: Redneck Mommy | 24 November 2008 at 09:07 AM
OH NO!!!!! That poor little guy! And yes, a lot of glue, indeed! :(
Posted by: Kat | 24 November 2008 at 09:09 AM
The first memory I have in life is when I was about your little man's age. I was playing on my mom's exercise bike and my foot slipped. My big toe managed to sneak it's way into some moving parts, it was not cool. I lost the tip of my toe but the nail grew back and you can't tell that anything ever happened to it. On the bright side he will have an interesting first memory.
Posted by: LovingDanger | 24 November 2008 at 09:09 AM
yikes! Oh, his poor, sad little face in the ER just breaks my heart! Little boys certainly do keep us on our toes. Glad to hear he's running around and laughing and doing fine
Posted by: avonlea | 24 November 2008 at 09:28 AM
I'm so glad he's ok. I would have freaked which is reason #365 why I don't have kids.
Remember this.........Chicks dig scars!
Glad he is recovering nicely.
Timi
Posted by: Timi | 24 November 2008 at 09:40 AM
I just realized, in reading all the comments, that if anyone is pregnant with their first boy and is reading this, they are probably FREAKING THE HELL OUT right about now. lol
On the plus said, although they do scare the ever-lovin shit out of us sometimes (my own 4-yr old guy's adventures include cracking his head against a big red cement ball at Target - on purpose - and riding his tricycle down the stairs - on purpose), they do have a special relationship with their mommies. They're awesome little creatures.
Posted by: Trish | 24 November 2008 at 09:42 AM
Poor little guy!! He was so brave!! It cracked me up that his brother wanted to use glue to fix it.
Posted by: dcokequeen | 24 November 2008 at 09:46 AM
He is SO cute!
Posted by: Kim in AK | 24 November 2008 at 10:12 AM
My older daughter lost the tip of her middle finger to the hinge of a security door when she was about your boy's age.
She had 19 stitches in her 'bird' finger and lost the nail. It has grown back, but will never be like the rest of them. She likes to 'flip the bird' and show everyone her gnarly nail.
I actually passed out (hit the floor, literally) when I had to change the dressing.
In our house, I do puke and Hubby does blood.
Posted by: swirl girl | 24 November 2008 at 10:42 AM
Same thing happened to the daughter of my best friend. They were able to reattach the 'dangling part' and told her that in children at this age the finger will actually regenerate occasionally. I don't know how that happens but the dr swore that they have seen it happen. She said one little girl lost hers past the nail and it was back to normal, nail and all, in a couple of years. Weird.
I hope he's doing well.
Posted by: OutdoorDogs | 24 November 2008 at 11:08 AM
Poor Big T! What a tough little guy. Kids are way more resilient than we ever think. Think of the stories he'll have to tell...
Posted by: Meg | 24 November 2008 at 11:19 AM
That is one strong little dude. I remember one Christmas Eve when I was 8. It was 75 degrees in NC and I was outside kicking the soccer ball around. Long story short, tripped fell on nail and spent afternoon in hospital. Blood sucks.
Posted by: DC Urban Dad | 24 November 2008 at 11:20 AM
(somehow this originally got posted to the WRONG POST. I blame Monday. Or my middle brother Ian. He's almost always at fault.)
Poor baby!!! And poor YOU!!! It's always the moms who suffer the most. Don't let anyone tell you any differently either!!
When my youngest brother Bryce was that age (and Bryce is now pushing thirty...damn...that makes me OLD) he kissed a dog on the lips. And got his face bitten for his troubles. *sighs*
And *I* was the one who discovered that my middle brother (who was about the age of L-Dub at the time) had SPLIT his underarm open and it was bleeding. His ARMPIT. Required seven stitches. I STILL REMEMBER.
I amend. It is always the mothers...AND the BIG SISTERS who suffer the most. Cause the little brother who kissed the dog? Also put his entire arm through a glass window when chasing the brother who SPLIT his armpit when he was fifteen. *I* sat in the back seat with him, putting pressure on the damned thing (and ruining my new, summer mint green dress that looked SO awesome on my freshly eighteen self) while my mother the nurse hit EVERY green light between our house and Sparrow Hospital, three towns away.
*coff*
You need starbucks. Lots of it. By the IV. I can hook ya up with a guy...
Posted by: Talon | 24 November 2008 at 11:36 AM
Poor little guy! Sounds like he was a trooper though.
Posted by: Kate | 24 November 2008 at 12:21 PM
My sister and my father are infamous for power calling me just because I don't answer the first time, calling over and over until I do. I've told them both many times that if something was ever wrong and I needed to be reached, I would just think they were doing that.
I have kids close to your sons age and my heart ached when I saw these photos. Poor guy.
Posted by: shonda | 24 November 2008 at 12:28 PM