Virtute.org

I have a pet peeve.  Periodically, one child will run down the hall (usually carrying something another child was playing with) and slam the door, leaving a sibling crying in the hall.  I hate it when the children play with the door.  All that yelling has never resulted in a change in behavior, though.

Tonight, the kids were playing a game with the bedroom door, and getting yelled at for it.  Isaac slammed the door, and Charlotte’s thumb got caught.  The damage was pretty bad; the tip of her thumb was just dangling, and she was in some real pain.  She’s a stoic little soul, though.  The first emergency room wouldn’t take our insurance, so we had to go to the next place.  Makes me glad we’re not out in the sticks.  After the first burst of tears, Charlotte was very calm, if maybe a little scared.

**Grizzly Details Warning**

When they gave Charlotte the shots to numb her thumb, it stung quite a bit.  I’m a dad, so I’m not ashamed to say I cried just a little with her.  I love my little girl.  I held her other hand and put my head close to hers and comforted her as best I could.  Kathleen sang to her and played a game finding the shapes in the room.  Once the anesthetic kicked in, she was very calm.

The tip of her thumb was nearly completely severed, about halfway through where the nail is.  The nail was lost; the doctor says it will probably grow back a little funny.  The bone was broken (just right at the tip), which says a lot about how tough my little girl is.  The doctor stitched it back together, and the tip will probably heal just fine.  He used dissolving sutures so she won’t have to have them removed.  Charlotte watched the whole procedure, and was very still and quiet.

The discharge papers classify it as "Near Amputation Digit; Fracture of Phalanx of Finger".

**End Grizzly Details**

When everything was done, she said, "I have no more hurt thumb."  They put a big blue bandage on her, gave her some antibiotics, and sent us home.  Once we were on our way, she perked right up.  We had a story, a hug, and a prayer, and she’s asleep in bed.  I’ll delay piano lessons for approximately four weeks.