Cruise's First ER Visit

I say first because, let's face it, 1) he's a boy & 2) he's fearless. However, this ER visit wasn't necessarily due to either of those factors.

The boys were just playing and I thought, "Here's a fun idea! I'll get the scarves out, put on some music and let the boys dance!" So I cleared the living room floor, got the music going and the scarves handed out, and the boys went to town! But the first song wasn't even finished before Cruise tripped over his own feet and hit the back of his head on the corner of his bedpost (his bed is in the living room). He quickly grabbed his head and cried & screamed in pain. I went to look when I saw a gush of blood. I quickly pushed my palm onto the cut and walked him to the kitchen where I screamed for my brother-in-law Joey, who happened to be home (and who also happens to be an EMT). He came up and advised me that we needed to take him to the ER. He took over putting pressure on Cruise's head with a rag, while I got everything ready to go.

We got both the boys in the car and Joey sat oh so uncomfortably between the car seats, still applying pressure to Cruise's head. I constantly had the thought running through my brain, "Stay calm, relax, don't worry...otherwise Cruise will freak out." So I asked what song Cruise wanted me to sing on the way there. We sang, ironically, 5 Little Monkeys, and Cat Goes Fiddle-I-Fee.

We pulled up to the ER and checked in. Luckily we went to Orem Community, so there weren't any people waiting. They asked some questions and looked at the cut (that had luckily stopped bleeding by now). Meanwhile, I had Joey call my dad to pick Jett up, who was wiggling all over the place and wanting to look for something to get into. My family picked Jett and Joey up so I could stay with Cruise.

They put a topical anesthetic on the cut and wrapped it with some green "tape". They showed Cruise in the mirror that he looked like a Ninja, and he got a kick out of that.

For about 15 minutes we waited for the anesthetic to be complete, while we watched some T.V. Cruise did so great and didn't have a meltdown or anything. He just sat on the bed, lookin' like a ninja, and watchin' some t.v. The ER doc came in and removed the tape to once again take a look at the cut. Cruise obviously could still feel the cut since it was all the way to the bone. The doctor educated me about the options: stitches or staples. If they did stitches, they'd have to give him another anesthetic via injection. I figured, whichever was fastest was the best route to go, so I decided on staples.

I previously had told them that Cruise had autism, so when I asked the doctor a special favor, he was extremely accommodating. I asked him if he'd explain to Cruise what he was going to do and to show him the tool he was going to use. The doctor not only did that, but he showed him the staples and even taped some onto a tongue depressor so Cruise could take it to show-and-tell. Then I asked if they had any treats or anything so Cruise could get his mind off of the pain once we stapled his head shut. The nurse brought him a green stuffed gorilla and some Oreos (by this time, Cruise was really liking the ER). But then we had to have him lay on his tummy so they could staple. Two nurses had the back, and I had his head. I told Cruise, "Okay, they're going to staple your head now. It's going to hurt a little, but it will make your head better." The two staples went in and Cruise just whimpered a little--he did awesome. Didn't cry or scream or even thrash. After finishing off his Oreos, we were given the OK to leave and Cruise skipped out of the ER a happy boy.