13 Stitches for Levi's Face
Guess who got 13 stitches in his face over the weekend?!?
We had just arrived at Grandma Nelson's house and been there for maaaybe a half hour, when Levi came through the back door crying, his face and hands covered in blood. I immediately set to work, asking for some paper towels to wipe away the blood. (All moms know head wounds are extra bloody and always look worse than they really are, right?) I wouldn't let Levi look in the mirror. I didn't want him to see the gash in his face and become hysterical.
Levi had been helping his cousin Leah feed calves on the dairy farm when he slipped and fell onto a metal pipe. (Actually, it sounds like they were playing -- not working. Lol.)
"Bud, you are definitely going to need stitches for this one," I said matter of factly. "Do you think he needs stitches?" I asked my sister in law, Amber. "Yeah, he needs stitches," I answered my own question. There were two big gashes across Levi's nose and cheek: one looked particularly deep and neither were clean and straight.
Nearly everyone had left the house to go night skiing, so Amber jumped right in to help me out. She's such an angel! She offered to watch the other two boys for me, warmed up her van for me to borrow, and suggested I head into the Rigby Community Care.
Levi calmed down on the quiet ride over to Rigby, but the doctor was honest with us when he saw Levi's wound. He said he wasn't comfortable stitching up a gash like that on a child's face and sent us down to the emergency room at EIRMC in Idaho Falls where he knew we would receive better care for Levi's situation.
I was pleasantly surprised with the care at EIRMC. The staff didn't seem overwhelmed with emergencies Friday evening, so Levi was given a bracelet and brought back pretty fast. He received a CT scan to ensure his nose wasn't broken. (Gulp! I'm not looking forward to seeing that bill!) When the scans came back clear, our awesome nurse set to work numbing up Levi's wound with a topical medication. I was relieved to hear the P.A. say she was confident she could stitch up Levi's nose. Even the doctor said he would prefer her to stitch up his own children; she did a much better job than himself. And so with Levi's nose numb and his arms tucked under a warm blanket, she went to work. I found it fascinating how precisely she made those tiny stitches! Levi was a champ through the whole ordeal. He was calm and pleasant and let her skills shine. In fact, Levi only cried when she said he couldn't play in the hot tub!
The skin came back together really well. As his mama, I feel relieved. I am grateful for modern medicine and skilled doctors. Levi's right eye has been swollen and a little bruised all weekend, but he hasn't complained much. My 7 year old trooper is going to be just fine. Between his young age and my determination to slather sunscreen on his face, we're hoping for a very thin and light scar. Keep your fingers crossed!
Never a dull moment with little boys! But I sure do love them.
^^Levi relaxing in the emergency room with some numbing medicine on his nose.^^
^^Look how DEEP that cut went! She even found a sliver of metal while flushing it out.^^
^^All stitched up and ready to head home by 9PM!^^
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