Saturday, March 1st was a cold, snowy Saturday and we were happy to have our neighbor's basketball games to attend. Jace had three games on Saturday and we welcomed the thought of being out of the house with something to do, without being pressed for time or other commitments. We all went to Jace's first two games and Chloe went with a friend to a birthday party so the rest of us came home for the break between the second and third games. We drove long enough for Amelia & Caroline to fall asleep in the car, parked in the garage, and as Isaac was getting out Royce shut the door before Isaac's hand was out of the way. I heard instant S C R E A M I N G that was unreal. I immediately knew what must have happened and no children were sleeping any longer. Oh dear, Isaac was in so much pain it broke our hearts. And I honestly wouldn't out Royce in this situation but since the incident the first thing out of Isaac's mouth to everyone has been "My dad smashded my fingers in the car door." So...Royce gets outed either way. Poor dad.
We tried calming Isaac down, rinsed the blood and he wanted bandaids so we put them on just to humor him and try to get the kid to stop screaming. I'm pretty sure nobody on the block was sleeping during these 15 minutes. I messaged my ever-reliable friend Megan for her expertise in kiddo situations (she is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Children's Mercy in KC) and after swapping messages and some pictures she advised us to take him to the ER, which was a very good choice. I'm pretty relaxed when it comes to ER visits and it usually takes a second opinion to get me to take kids in. But I never want my judgment to get in the way of my kids health and she always has the right answer. So blessed to have friends & family who are nurses!
These are the initial pictures of his right hand, middle and ring fingers.
Middle finger bled on it's own, ring finger did not.
Isaac was pretty upset still on the way to the ER but we got in right away and the nurse was really great with him and calmed him down. Dogger even got to go along!
He had X-rays right there in the room.
The X-rays showed a chipped bone in the tip of his middle finger. The doctor also decided it would be best to drill a hole in his ring-finger nail to release the blood causing pressure under it. Isaac didn't feel a thing, it was great. And I took the needle home with us so I could keep the hole opened for 24-36 hours to soak and get more blood out. Every few hours Isaac would tell me, "Mom, it feels like a heartbeat again" so we would drain the finger. His middle finger didn't ever drain in the warm water but it would saturate the bandaids between changes so it was draining on its own. When we would poke his ring finger he would then put it in warm water and he would press down on the pad of his finger and blood would start coming out of the hole. Isaac would say, "There's the volcano!" He loved it! I'm really glad he enjoyed draining it because it sure will heal quicker without all of that blood in his nail bed.
A week later the nails are very purple. I told Isaac if he'd let me paint his nails hot pink nobody would notice that he had two purple nails. He didn't bite. I'm sure he'll lose the nails eventually. His middle finger is the only one that hurts though, just on the tip, which is where the bone was chipped. He's been very good about taking caution with them.
And K-State bandaids make EVERYTHING feel better :)
Royce would cringe every time his best boy would say "I just wish this never would have happened." We all do, Buddy. We all wish it wouldn't have happened either. Royce felt bad enough he was willing to smash his own fingers in the car door too but even Isaac agreed that probably wouldn't solve anything. Luckily when you are six the extra attention you get when you have been injured makes the pain go away. He was excited to tell his teacher & friends at school. And since he missed Jace's third basketball game he appreciated Jace and teammates asking him how he was at school on Monday. It's nice to be surrounded by friends who care so much!
