I need to update about some important events from the recent past.
Abby turned 4 on 28 March 2007. Melinda threw a Birthday party for her with all of the cousins. They were playing “Mother May I’ when Alex tripped and fell into the fireplace. He hit the middle of his forehead above his right eye. Melinda carried him into me in the kitchen and laid him on the counter. His head was opened up pretty wide and he was crying a lot. After one look it was obvious he needed stitches. I grabbed a towel to cover the bleeding and took him out to the van. Melinda called her Mom and asked is she could come down and take over the party. We sped off to the clinic - After Hours Medical in Draper. They got us right in. Alex was inconsolable. He didn’t like the idea of going to the doctor in the first place and once he got to the clinic and saw the table he disliked it even more.
They had to clean the wound first, then they injected it with numbing solution. Both of which made him cry hysterically. The worst part of course was when they got right down to the stitches. We helped wrap him up in a blanket so he couldn’t move. The nurse held his head, Melinda held his arms and I held his legs. They covered his face with a gauze pad which opened in one small area so the doctor could focus on the area to be stitched. This is what he disliked the most. He kept pleading, “I can see, I can’t see” “Please, take it off.” I really wasn’t handling it well. I felt terrible for him and just wanted to do anything so help him calm down and make it through the process so we could comfort him.
I was terribly anemic because I had a ruptured hemorrhoid which had been bleeding profusely for a couple weeks each time I went to the bathroom. I think the anemia along with the stress and emotion of poor Alex was really making me faint. I was sweating a lot and kept wiping my forehead on Melinda’s sleeve. One of the other nurses noticed my sweating, and pale face and took my place holding Alex’s legs while I sat down to rest. They got me a CapriSun to drink and as soon as Alex was finished they had me lay down on the bed in his place. Once Alex was free and could see clearly he was quite happy. He got his sucker and was all better. As soon as we convinced the nurses that I was fine, we left and made it back to the party five stitches later and in time for cake. We were gone less than an hour.
Fast forward a week and half to Easter morning and Melinda and I both sat in the living room in quite hesitation, neither one of us looking forward to a repeat of Alex’s last visit to the doctor.
Alex was playing with a ball in the living room and accidentally fell into the end table. He got a small puncture wound right between his eyes. Again it was obvious that he needed stitches, and despite our efforts to talk ourselves out of it, we finally decided to take him into the hospital. We dropped Abby off at Church to go to pre-school and then headed over to Alta View. We decided to go to the emergency room this time so we could have a plastic surgeon take care of the stitches. (Perhaps we should have done the same thing the first time around.)
The nurses and doctors were confused at first glance because he still hand bandages on his head from his previous stitches. Alex wasn’t as instantly nervous or distraught about being in the emergency room; I don’t think he recognized it like he did the After Hours Clinic where he had been for his cat bite. However, he didn’t like sitting on the doctors chair and preferred instead to run around on the floor and be unfriendly to all the doctor’s and nurses.
The hospital had a Velcro board to bind him with. It worked better than the blankets had and he didn’t seem to mind it as much, but he still hated having his face and eyes covered. I let Melinda do the battle this time so I didn’t risk fainting again. He received 3 stitches. It was slightly less difficult this time around, but still heart wrenching and definitely one of the most emotional draining experiences of my life.
The day after we were at the clinic for Alex’s first stitches we were back at the clinic for Melinda. After consulting webmd.com we determined she had mastitis. The doctor confirmed the diagnosis and they prescribed an anti-biotic and gave her a shot in the butt before we left.
The next day, 30 March 2007 I went in for a hemorrhoidectomy. Abby and Alex stayed overnight at Rob and LaDena’s. Baylee came with us. This was my 7th time for a procedure requiring anesthesia. Here is the quick history:
1. Wisdom Teeth
2. Jaw wired shut
3. Jaw un-wired
4. Hernia – left side
5. Hernia right side
6. Colonoscopy
7. Hemorrhoids
By the time we made it home, Melinda was so weak and sick that she climbed right into bed with me. She confesses later that she was barely able to drive home. This is where Poppy stepped in as a great help. Melinda was feeling so sick that I insisted she go back to the clinic, which the doctor had recommended if she didn’t feel any better. By the time Poppy got her there she was feeling so poorly that she lay down right on the floor at the clinic. They took her in and got her hooked up to an IV. She had a fever of over 104 degrees. The doctor determined that she better get into hospital so they called the ambulance to pick her up.
Prior to this event it was a standing joke between Melinda and I that whenever I was sick, she was more sick, so by default the responsibility fell to me to take care of the kids, house etc. This last dramatic event was another evidence of this strange pattern. I decided that if I ever got diagnosed with cancer that Melinda would probably have a heart attack. (Gratefully, I hope we will never find out.)
Melinda stayed overnight in the hospital while I Poppy stayed the night with me and took wonderful care of me.
Alex had his 3rd birthday on 7 April 2007, which was a Saturday. Melinda took the kids down to the Saxey family campout on Friday and spent the night. I managed to make it to the temple on Saturday, 8 April to see Aunt Michelle receive her endowments.
Baylee was blessed on 29 April 2007. The main feeling of her blessing is that she has been given the gift of happiness and contentment. She is by definition “the perfect baby”. She smiles more than any baby I’ve seen. She is easy to take care of. She has never cried for an unknown reason When she is hungry or wants to be held, she ‘baby talks” but it’s never loud or annoying. Even when she needs to be changed she doesn’t cry, in fact she is extremely patient. She loves to be held, but if you need to set her down she sits contently.
