Noggin Trouble

The kids seem to find great joy in tying their hands and feet together with scarves and trying to free themselves. I tend to ignore this game, because while it is odd, it doesn't seem too inherently dangerous.

Sunday evening they were playing this game when I had to change my mind.  Grace was hopping around with her hands tied behind her back when she fell.  In mid-leap, a rope she was trailing caught in the door and she caught her fall with her head on the living room floor. She cried; a lot.  She calmed down after a bit, then started acting tired, whiny and complaining of a headache.  We debated whether she needed to be taken to the doctor to check for a concussion.  Then she started vomiting.  Decision made.

There was no line at urgent care and the staff was incredibly kind to my sick little girl.  Grace has been terrified of doctors for years but she meekly held out her arm for a blood pressure and pulse check, and willingly had her temperature taken.  While talking to the PA, Grace started puking again (thankfully in the provided bag).  It was at that point they decided to send us the the ER.  The PA says she has comfortably sent kids home who have fallen from much higher heights and with more force, but she (and the doctor, and I) were concerned about the vomiting.

So off to the ER we went.  Grace refused to talk to the staff but she meekly accepted all the procedures.  They also gave her some anti-nausea medicine and liquid Tylenol, which she took with only a bare minimum of coaxing from me.  This is her face after a couple more bouts of throwing up and shortly after she took her medicine.  

As she fell asleep in my lap, I will admit I got a little teary eyed.  I have not been able to get Grace to take any medicine without a huge fuss for several years now, and just a couple months ago she hid behind me and cried at the dentist's office, to the point they could not do any exam.  I knew she was sick and miserable, but I was so proud of how well she was handling the poking and prodding  she was undergoing.  She didn't cry, fuss, or carry on.  She just let the medical professionals do what they needed to do.  I was so proud of how she was dealing with a tough situation.

After Grace slept for a few minutes it was time for a CT scan, where she had to lie very still on a bed as it was moved through "a giant doughnut".  Her eyeballs looked like they were about to pop out of her head as they darted around the room, but she kept the rest of her body perfectly still and they were done in just a few short minutes.  Goodness, I'm tearing up now, remembering how brave she was.

It was finally decided she had just a minor concussion, and her brain and skull were entirely unharmed.  We came home to eat a late dinner Michael had waiting for us and tuck her away in bed.  It was a rough night and we were all exhausted, but we are also all well and Grace faced a huge fear, and owned it!