Saturday was a nightmare, one that keeps replaying over and over again in my mind. It started out as a normal Saturday with cleaning and straightening the house. Jeremy decided to leave and go Christmas shopping (he finally figured out that Christmas Eve is not the best time to start Christmas shopping). I thought it was a good idea to run some errands too while he was gone, but Brielle didn't think it was a good idea. She wanted to stay home in jammies and play with her toys all morning. But being the mean mom that I am, I got her dressed & we were out the door-even against the mother's intuition telling me to stay home. I had my route all planned out. 4 stores in the agenda. I even thought I could possibly finish all my Christmas shopping that day. The day had other plans for us. First stop; the new Nike Outlet. I got Brie out of the car and into her stroller and we rushed into the store. It was a breezy cold day! I started my shopping and soon found my items and stood in the line to checkout-surprisingly short. Just as I was being rung up Brie stood up in her stroller & asked for a treat. I was surprised to see her not buckled, but figured we were just about to leave so no need. I told her she could have a treat if she would sit down and I turned to sign for my purchase. Bam!! I turned around to see Brielle face down on the cement floor with her stoller tipped over and her screaming. I picked her up off the floor to find blood all over her face and hands. Tears welled up in my eyes and scared emotions filled me. All the people around me rushed to get towels, bandaids, tissue-anything to help. I kept thinking she had busted out her teeth or bitten her tongue off, but I was wrong & I could not find the source of the blood. A gentleman behind me said he thought it was her chin. Sure enough the bottom of her chin was cut & gaping open. I cleaned her off the best I could & put on a band-aid, while the cashier gathered my things and we rushed to my car. On the way to the car Brielle stopped crying long enough to tell me she needed a drink. Good sign I thought, & who cold blame her with all that blood in her mouth. I called Jeremy to meet us at InstaCare and we drove quickly there. As soon as we stepped into the doctor's office I lost all control of my emotions. The nurse mentioned it is usually harder on the mom's than the child. And it was true for the most part. Brielle is terrified of the doctor's office, but this day she was calm and did just as they said. She wasn't crying, but I was, or at least for a bit. Jeremy came shortly after and they prepped her for stitches. Brielle received 7 stitches to her chin. She was very bave through the surgery. Just before I asked the nurses to look in her mouth as it had started to bleed again. They said they would during the surgery, but forgot and I forgot to remind them. Later that night when Jeremy was helping her brush her teeth he noticed that both sidesof her tongue were cut all the way through. Two flaps of tongue on each side. With the ibuprofen we had given her she didn't seem in much pain & decided if it still hurt in the morning we would take her back in. Thankfully the tongue is the fastest healing muscle and she was back to eating her favorite...tomato soup and grilled cheese, the next day. Here are the battle wounds-
small smile, but we'll take it! Dad unfortunately took this pic while eating. You get food face too!
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| Hard to see here, but there are two red lines on each side of her tongue. |
Our strong little girl the next day. Still smiling!
I definitely learned my lesson. I will ALWAYS buckle Brielle in her stroller/shopping cart even before going into the store whether it is cold and snowing or windy and rainy. I cringed today when I saw a little boy about to fall out of a shopping cart at Target today. I almost went up to the mother and said, "Look at my daughter. This is what happens to kids that fall out and that is if you are lucky." I didn't but kept a close eye on him instead. I hope she doesn't learn it the hard way like I did. I hate that Brielle is paying for my mistake.
Today when we went to the mall and I asked if she wanted to go in her stroller she said, "I won't fall down mom. Mom, did it break your heart?" I said yes & she replied "It broke my heart too."
