Kayla vs the tailgate

*WARNING - This post may not be for those with weak stomachs. There are pictures that may be too much for some people.*

As many of you know, we had a little accident in our home last Wednesday. Gosh, has it really been a week already? Well, it may be a week late, but here is the story of my brave little girl and her trip to the ER.

Last Wednesday was pretty much just like any other Wednesday. Got the kids off to school, ran a few errands with Kelsie, had lunch with Kevin and went home to wait for the kiddos to get home from school on early release day. Our plan for after school was to head over to Lindsay's house to work on some Destination Imagination stuff (That's a whole post in itself for another day).

As I was waiting in my kitchen, making sure I had all of my supplies together, I looked at the clock and I knew they should be walking in the door any minute. After a few minutes, I heard a scream. I stopped and listened. I heard Jacob's voice yell, "Mom there is lots of blood!" What?! I ran to the front door an opened it. Standing in front of me was my beautiful six year old daughter with blood streaming down her face. It was like a scene from a horror movie. Literally. There was blood in her eyes in her nose in her mouth, everywhere. I screamed. Jacob screamed. Kelsie stood frightened. What the heck happened?! Did she get hit by a car? Did someone throw a rock at her? Did someone push her down? Did she fall? WHAT?! It finally came to me that I should do something. Jacob and I are the LAST two people you want with you in an emergency situation. We both panic very easily. I get my wits about me enough to run Kayla into the bathroom and bark at Jacob to call his dad. I grab a washcloth and turn on the faucet and try to figure out where the blood is coming from. There is SO much blood!! I never knew how bad head wounds bled until last Wednesday. Jacob comes running into the bathroom and says that Kevin is not answering his phone.

I finally think to ask Jacob what happened. Kayla is really crying this whole time. He proceeds to tell me that they were just walking home together and Kayla decided to start running home when they were near our driveway. She starts running, Jacob stays behind and the next thing he knows she is screaming. She had ran directly into the tailgate from Kevin's truck that had been left down the night before when we were unloading DI stuff from the truck. We NEVER leave the tailgate down. Stupid thing is that I saw it earlier that morning as I was leaving to run my errands and I thought, "Huh, the tailgate is down. We never leave it down." Kevin, too saw it when he was home and thought about closing it but rushed off to work. If only we had listened to those little prompting.

ANYWAY, I see the 1 1/2 inch long laceration in her forehead. The source of all the blood. We apply pressure to the spot with the wash cloth and clean up the rest of her face. By now I have re-dialed Kevin and he answers. I bark at him to get home asap, we have an emergency. Luckily he was not too far from our house and rushed right home. I take another peak at her forehead. The second I remove the washcloth it starts to gush with blood again and I am shocked as to how wide and deep this laceration really is. Even though my daughter is bleeding, I still have DI on the brain so I call Lindsay to tell her that we will not be coming over, we have had an accident. I don't remember what I said to her, except that I felt really panicked and I was kind of freaking out.

Kevin gets home, we hop in my car and we drive to Kadlec's ER. They take her back after about 15 minutes. By this time the blood has stopped, thank goodness, and the nurse is able to REALLY see the gash in her head. Kayla makes a comment about how now she will look like Harry Potter and we all laugh. Typical Kayla. They agree that she will need stitches. They put some lidacain ointment on her and tell us they will be back in 30 minutes. So Kayla took this opportunity to literally chill in the hospital bed. Kick back, remote in her hand, watching Sponge Bob. No worries. Cool and calm, just like her dad. Jake and I are still freaking out about the whole thing. Doctors comes in, Jake and I step out. I hear him tell her he may have to inject a little more numbing medicine. Uh oh. Jake and I take a walk. About 10-15 minutes later we wander back and they are all done. That's it? Yep. Kevin said she just laid there with her hands behind her head. The doctor started stitching and he asked her if it hurt and she said just a little, and he kept going. He did not use any more medication, just the topical ointment. Kayla is a ROCK STAR, she is my hero. She hops off the bed and out the door. We get into the car and start on our way home and she asks, "Can I play with my friends when I get home?" I tell her she may need to lay down and take it easy after all you just got 7 stitches!! We get home and I try to give her some Tylenol and she refuses. She gets bored on the couch and runs off to play. Really?!

She is so much like her father in that way. I would have milked it as long as I could have, not her. It was a waste of her time to be laid up for an hour or so.

So there is our story of Kayla vs. the tailgate.