The phone call every parent dreads.....

Boo's school telephoned me on Friday.

"Ummm, this is Boo's school. He has had an accident in the playground and we think he might need some stitches in his face. He's in great distress. Can you come immediately or should we call an ambulance?"

I swear I went into shock before I had even hung up the phone. I don't remember anything of my drive to the school, but I will never forget his blood-soaked face and shirt and his howling cries when I arrived there.

He had been playing BullRush and had been accidentaly tripped up by a friend. Unfortunately he fell, while moving at great speed, into a wooden seat. His top lip was split completely through and his knees were pretty banged up. Other than that, and the danger that he might have been unconscious for a few seconds after the fall, he was mainly in shock.

I'm not the best when it comes to my own children's blood. I am THE person you want to have around if it's YOUR child who's bleeding, but I'm a mass of jelly when it's my own flesh and blood's blood.

Boo was howling that he didn't want to go to the hospital and I was trying to focus on soothing him and not having a car accident and not passing out myself...

Somehow we made it to the local Emergency room.... which was so full that people were actually waiting outside. A nearby Emergency room had closed down due to a fire the night before and this one was therefore catering for both.

It took a couple of hours to be seen by a doctor, who immediately called for a Plastic Surgeon to consult as the split lip was so serious. Another 2 hours and the Plastics doc got there, only to disappear again after having told our doctor how to stitch it.

It was horrendous. I swear the local anaesthetic didn't work. Boo was in such agony during the stitching that the doctor was tempted to cut the number of stitches in order to stop his pain. It was unbearable to watch. In fact, I can't believe that I did watch it. He squeezed my hands so hard that they are still a bit achey today. He screamed. Literally screamed. And he's not usually scared of pain.

And then he had to have TWO horrible horrible tetanus shots.

And the only thing he wanted for his reward for bravery (I would have given him the world at this point)? Five spicy chicken wings from a local chicken shop for dinner. Sheesh.

And to sleep in my bed.

It's a DH weekend this weekend. But he wanted to stay with me last night. DH picked him up this morning under strict instructions that Boo is not to over-exert himself, swim, get the stitches wet etc.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Me? I'm still a bit shaky and upset. It's going to be a big scar (unless he lets me massage him with Vitamin A for months afterwards) and he'll never be able to grow a mo (no big loss, I guess)... but hopefully his lip shape will be normal and there will be no other consequences. It's more the horror of seeing my baby in agony, and being reminded of the vulnerability of all that we have. It could have been so much worse.

I'm taking it slow today.