A hard lesson to learn

Last night, as we were all getting ready for bed, a terrible thing happened. We had just discussed in Family Counsel that Billy would now be sleeping on the bottom bunk to help him learn to get up and use the bathroom once in the middle of every night. Ian would now sleep on the top bunk. Everyone seemed pretty pleased with this plan, but something went awry during the execution. I was in the bathroom when I suddenly heard Carl yelling something to the effect of oh no, it's awful, Charity I need you... now. I replied that I'd be there in just a moment and then Carl with Ian clad in his arms burst through the door and set Ian on the sink counter. I started washing away the blood that was spilling over his face, looking for the origin. I just figured, bloody nose, no big. But then I saw two huge gashes cut into his sweet little chin. I started yelling, "OH NO, OH NO, OH NO." It wasn't my best performance of keeping it together. I paniced like I never have before- I'm usually the calm one when blood flows.

I told Carl to get him to the car and get to the hospital. He scooped him up with the hand towel from the bathroom held forcibly at his bloody chin and went for the van. Ian had no shoes and no jacket. He rode to Covenant ER in Carley's carseat- it was more accessible than his. Soon after they left, my panic would not subside. I looked for my other little ones, to calm them. I found Billy hiding and sobbing behind some furniture in the living room. I held him and told him Ian would be just fine. Carley climbed into my lap and she seemed nervous too. Once the kids were mostly calm, I started thinking about Ian again. I quickly called over a friend- who was there in record time (yeah Krista). I put Carley down for bed and left Billy watching Veggietales and in capable hands.

When I arrived at the ER I was pointed in the direction of Ian's room. As I walked through the door, Carl and Ian's faces were full of surprise. Ian smiled instantly. I helped to apply the numbing medicene to his chin and I got to be there to comfort him through the procedure. Besides the two large gashes under his mouth, the inside of Ian's mouth is a mess. He bit his lip in three places. One place is very deep. His mouth is swollen. Ian received 8 stitches. He slept while the doctor sewed him up. He was very patient and a good listener to the nurse and doctor. Both of which were wonderful! They were kind and personable to Ian. They were both careful to explain what they were doing.

When we got home we heard the whole story. Billy confessed that he pulled Ian off the ladder when Ian grabbed his toy puppy. He was feeling VERY guilty. Right after the incident, Billy was running around the house yelling in terror. Then he hid. Billy asked for his brother's forgiveness when we got home. He hugged him and watched over him. And this morning we talked about repentence. Billy prayed, so earnestly about his feelings. It was very humbling. He asked forgiveness and promised to be more careful. Ian will have stitches for 7-10 days. We're praying for a quick recovery.

I was so grateful that I was lucky enough to have a friend to call on to care for my little ones with no notice. I needed to be there for Ian. The nurse and doctor were wonderful and it was a blessing to have them watching over our Ian and accessing his needs. Carl lost a dress shirt last night-it was covered in blood. We lost a hand towel- I threw it out at the ER. I got naeseated and light headed from watching the stitches go in. But our family learned a hard lesson- one of repentence and being made humble. As parents, we learned how to hold our tongue and let the natural consequences speak for us. It was an experience that, at the time, seemed just horrible, but I can't bring myself to regret it.