Chicks Dig Scars

If you've been keeping up with my blogs, this one will come as no surprise. Over the weekend John sliced his pinky toe open. We had company over during the day and I cooked steaks and chicken on the grill for everyone. There's a BBQ 'tool box' next to the grill that has steak knives, grilling tongs, wire brush for cleaning the rack, etc. There's also a large long handled knife to use to cut and check the center of the meat w/o putting your arm over the flame.

Fast forward to after our friends left to go home. Charlie went outside to cut the grass, Tabby and Jessi were in their room playing. I was on the front porch swing and John was coming in and going out of the house to the back deck. He often goes out on the deck and plays with his riding toys and the dog. After cooking on the grill I forgot to close the grilling 'tool box' and while John was outside he got hold of the long handled knife and sliced open his toe. I heard him fuss a little, but it didn't sound like a major injury cry. He came in the house looking for me and found me out front. He came outside and I saw all the blood. I sat him in the swing with me to get a better look and saw his pinky toe was split open from his toe nail to the joint. I told him to sit tight and I'd get something to clean his foot up. I saw a blood trail, so I cleaned it up on my way back outside to clean up the wound. The next time Charlie came around the front of the house on the tractor I got his attention and called him over. I couldn't take my hand off John's foot cuz every time he moved his toe it would start bleeding again. Charlie took John to the hospital to get stitches. (Did I mention it was 6:30 in the evening when this happened?). A simple band aid wasn't going to work to keep him from making a bloody mess in the car, so Charlie wrapped John's toes to the ball of his foot with a paper towel and painters tape. It was secure and immobilized good enough to get to the hospital.

Off they went. I stayed with the girls and waited for updates from Charlie. He was there for about 2 hours and had his own set of troubles while he was there. In the hustle to get to the hospital I forgot to send the diaper bag and John's social security number with Charlie. And of course, when the boys get there John had a load in his pull up and the nurses wouldn't get a fresh diaper for him until he go back into an exam room. Poor John had to sit in his stink for about 45 minutes. Since Charlie didn't know John's SS# the staff couldn't pull up John's name in their system, when they finally found it they turn to Charlie and ask if he's 'Jamie L. Simkins'. He said he wasn't and they asked who he was. He told them he's John's father and they gave him looks, as if they weren't sure to believe him. The doctor comes in and says his toe is too small to stitch so a nurse was gonna come in and use butterfly strips to close it up.

It's finally time to leave. Charlie stops by Walgreens to get an antibiotic for John (to prevent infection) and they head on home. Charlie said John was really good and hardly fussed at all at the hospital. Once John gets in the door he begins whimpering and reaching out for me, lol. I take him in my arms and sit on the couch and snuggle him. He stayed up about an hour longer and then I put him to bed and Charlie and I went to bed. It was about 11pm.

John's getting around just fine now. Aside from the butterfly strip and cut on his toe you'd never know he got hurt.