Five for # 5

I guess Benjamin had not had enough excitement through the course of his birthday weekend because he gave himself a belated birthday "gift" Sunday. It was the type of "gift" kids get all too frequently, you know the kind we all really could have done without receiving. But we all know that kids are greedy.

On Sunday evening, because of church being cancelled for all the little munchkins due to the dedication of the Oquirhh Mountain Temple, the kids were pretty restless. So they headed out in the backyard to play. I am not kidding when I tell you that not even 5 minutes later, Ashton and Dallin came running in screaming something about an EMERGENCY. Since this was the third “EMERGENCY” we had experienced that day and it wasn't coupled with any blood curdling screams, I didn’t take off running. In the backyard, I found Ben on the tramp holding up his foot with blood running down his leg.

Okay……this was an EMERGENCY!!!

I grabbed an old towel lying beside the tramp that had been discarded from a previous game and dabbed the blood away so I could see what we were dealing with.

It was not good.

There was a huge laceration extending horizontally across Ben’s big toe and onto the second one and it was definitely deep enough for stitches. I wound the towel around his foot tight enough to control the bleeding, scooped him up and headed for the house. I met Richard half way across the yard with the “this doesn’t look good” expression and within 10 minutes we were on our way to InstaCare.

Now I have been to InstaCare many times, but I guess I have never been there with Ben, because I am sure I would have remembered it. Have you ever been in the Dr.’s office or some other medical facility and you hear someone’s child screaming at the top of their lungs?

That night it was my child.

I have never heard, no, felt the intensity and power that came from that little body being held down yet cradled by his daddy’s arms. The strength that came from his mouth and lungs was overwhelming and nothing I have ever experienced with any of my children.

It was heartbreaking.

Even with my being a nurse and having medical training and knowledge that this was what was best for him, I was relieved when it was over. We left Instacare two hours after we had arrived with 5 stitches in Ben’s toe, one for every year he was old. What a way to finish off his birthday weekend.

But wait! That’s not the end of the story! You didn’t hear about the tetanus shot at the Dr.’s office the next day. Well, to make a long story short, just go up to paragraph 7 and start reading at the 2nd sentence again.

Same heartbreaking story.

Or I could just say, that I’m sure the staff at Orem Family Medicine will insert their ear plugs the next time they see Benjamin Parke coming through their doors.

The finished product.