~ For Suzanne ~
There are some family accidents that you never forget.
When Jem was a baby, just two months old, we were living in Natick, Massachusetts. Our starter home was a little Cape Cod—emphasis on the word “little”—but it was home and we loved it.
I was such a young mom back then.
One day Jem was exceedingly fussy. Nothing I did seemed to comfort him and his nonstop crying left my nerves raw. I placed him on his tummy in the middle of my bed—he wasn’t crawling yet—to cry it out and give my nerves a break.
The next thing I knew, there was a horrible thud. In his tight-fisted little fury, Jem had managed to inch his way to the edge of the bed…and fell off, headfirst, onto the hard wood floor.
It was awful.
My parents were visiting at the time, and my father—a former WWII Marine who saw substantial combat in the Pacific Theater—broke down and cried. It didn’t take long for me to calm Jem down but we were all very shaken.
The next day I noticed an enormous goose egg on the side of his head. I felt it gingerly and blanched—it was squishy and soft to the touch.
That, too, was an awful moment.
I took Jem to the pediatrician, who examined it and sent me off to the ER for X-Rays. “They’re pretty resilient, these little ones,” she said. “Still, we want to be sure.”
Sure enough, he had a hairline fracture—nothing too serious, he’d heal up just fine. The best part of all about the trip to the ER was that X-Ray. Jem was not at all pleased with the process and screamed the whole time.
I’d never seen X-Rays of a screaming skull before.
It was hilarious.
This story is one that gets retold often because that’s what a family does after a scare like that—it’s how we cope. I will usually tease Jem by adding that this fall of his “explains everything.”
He scowls but enjoys the attention.
AMDG,
Oh…great story. He looks great now!
Margaret,
Traumatizing! That's what I describe these kinds of events…for the mother,I mean.
About one week ago my fourth child, Christopher, who is almost 8months fell off the counter onto the cold,hard tile floor! Despite a black eye and mouth, he was fine. I, however, am still considering a round of perscription drugs.
Praise be to God both your boy and mine were ok. Thanks for sharing.
You know, when our daughter was four months old she was atop a shopping cart in her carseat, strapped in. Somehow she managed to lean over to look at the floor, and Sir Isaac Newton took over. It was awful.
She hit the cold, hard floor of that grocery store. She barely cried, and we thought she had escaped injury. Later, her head got a soft spot on it and we rushed her to the ER. They transferred her (by ambulance! Oh, my breaking mother's heart!) to Children's where we found out she had a hairline fx. The best part? Every single doctor and/or nurse comforted us with a story about how his or her child had fallen off a changing table/slipped out of a stroller, etc. and now they're fine. They told us skull fxs in kids are pretty common. The worst part? We were IN THE PROCESS OF ADOPTING HER, and you can't imagine the fear. The social workers (standard ops) came in and talked to us briefly. They reassured us that this happens and everything was fine.
Today, she's a happy 2.5 year old, but I'll never forget that night.
(Recently, she ran smack into a wall and split her head and had to get two staples. Oh, that was fun, too – and once again, she ONLY cried briefly, when her wound was being irrigated.)
Glad to hear your boy is fine!
🙂
-Cathy
That DOES explain everything. And we thought it was genetic…
Thank you for this, Margaret. What a tale, and so familiar. It is a great comfort to hear you've been through the same scenario and look at that happy healthy boy now! I suppose that wasn't the last of his bumps and bruises either. This job of raising littles is a tough one and not for the faint of heart. Thanks again, Margaret, for sharing and for your friendship.