The Accident

And now for some more serious news and I'll warn you up front if you're squeamish feel free to skip this post. 

Friday morning we had a big day. Don was heading into work to clean out his office and I was to get the house ready for a 1 PM showing. I had worked the night before on the outside mowing, edging, trimming bushes, and ran out of battery right before I finished blowing away the mess. So I charged it all night and was outside blowing when Don called. He got Rebekah and Rebekah brought me the phone. He had an accident at work, fell, and was being taken to the hospital for some stitches. At that point Rebekah freaked out and started wailing. I tried to comfort her as much as possible but she was pretty much unconsolable and I had to wrap my head around what Don was telling me. She eventually went inside where I found her calling grammy. 

Grammy asked if she should come down and Rebekah emphatically said yes. At this point I was trying to get dressed and get Rebekah dressed so we could go to the hospital. Then I realized I didn't want to take Rebekah into an ER. That would be bad. Then I realized she probably couldn't go into an ER anyway because of Covid. I started to panic but then "Erin" came to my mind and I called her. Bless her! Bless the Church! Bless Christ like people everywhere. Before I could even get the whole story out she said, "I'm putting on my shoes, where do you want me to meet you?" 

So I drove to the hospital and met Erin, handed off Rebekah and went inside. 

I was not prepared. Don's hands were covered in blood. His forehead covered in gauze bandaging. He was shaking and sobbing every so often. I wanted to hold his hand but obviously couldn't so I went right to his side and put my hands everywhere I could on him to try and help him calm down and come back to the present. 

Eventually the doctor told me they were taking him for a cat scan to check for brain damage and I knew this was more serious than I had even imagined at that point. The dr, while telling me this, moved his bandage to peek underneath and I got a glimpse of Don's skull. 

While he was waiting for them to take him he told me he tripped and fell into a rod iron fence. Upon further inspection he had a huge goose egg on his left side of his forehead and another on the right. I assume when he fell into them the force of the fall against the fence split his skin. 

They eventually took him and I called to let Rebekah and Erin know what was going on (I texted Erin a more clear understanding and left Rebekah kind of vague. Erin eventually helped Rebekah understand what daddy might look like and how face wounds often look worse than they are.) I called mom and mentioned what was going on as well and that I was glad she was coming down. That she should let me know when she is at the house and I'll have Erin bring Rebekah over. 

Eventually Don came back. His boss was texting him. And Don was concerned about the showing at 1. I talked about canceling and he suggested I go home, prepare the house, and come back, but the nurse said if I left I would not be getting back in. I again suggested I call our realtor but Don was not giving up. Eventually I got mom and Rebekah on speaker phone and had them prep the house. 

The nurse came back will the all clear / no brain damage report. All he would need is stitches - from right below his eyelid to his hair line. The doctor came in to discuss the process and then gave Don a bunch of shots in the forehead. Each one more painful than the last. I stayed down by his feet and rubbed his legs. Every so often I would look up at the doctor who would be stitching away with something that looked like a fish hook. Blood was everywhere. It was like an episode of MASH; I always thought blood squirting the doctor's shirt and masks was for audience effect but man! It happens. I one point, with blood gushing down his ear, I asked the doctor if Don has lost so much blood that I need to be concerned for him. He assured me he was okay. Even made a Frankenstein joke or two. Talked about how Don needed a better story but Don replied it's all on Cummin's security cameras so not much he can do to embellish. 

He finally gets stitched up. Don is exhausted and resting, but his boss is still texting him. I tried to take the phone away from him but he was having none of it. Eventually I trick Don into sending his boss a picture, for I think if his boss really knew what was going on he would leave him alone. So Don asks him if he wants a picture, and of course the boss says yes. So Don forwards him the picture I took of him. It worked: the boss texted back, "OH MY .... Dude I had no idea..." and left him alone for the duration. 

We talk the nurse into putting gauze over the wound so we don't freak the 9 year old out. Then I take my man home. 

Rebekah hides a little but does rather well. But I take Don right into the bathroom and get the layers of matted blood off him. It's thick and he reeks of it. I get most of it off except for right behind the scar. I don't want to mess with that too much because the doctor warned me that it was possible the stitches might break. Yikes! 

Eventually I get him into some clean clothes and take him to the living room to visit with mom and the Bee. Soon I get him and Rebekah watching a show and go down with mom to get his car home. I also stop at the pharmacy to get his medicine and some gatorade. 

I make it home and we decide Don has had a rough day and we should break into his birthday cup cakes. And then I let him and mom talk and took the Bee on a walk. She found wild flowers.

And baby geese.

Eventually she played on her iPad while I was helping Don with something. I got a text with this. It said, "I'm queen Rebekah." I especially appreciate the mask. Very 2021. 

And now, for the picture I sent his boss. Don't look if you're not sure. You can't unsee. But it's not his skull. And believe it or not, this was cleaned up.