Char & her bucket list- ER: check!

In true Valentine Nest fashion, I am in catch up mode once again & am in shock with how much has happened in the past three weeks! We are taking it back to April 23rd. I hopped on a plane to head to Dallas all by my lonesome to interview for a job. Let's just say my time away was quite uneventful compared to those I left behind in sunny Florida! I spent Wednesday afternoon with Calvin, my friend Halie's son while she went to an appointment. Little did we know, Charlotte had a bucket list for Florida that included a trip to the Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital Emergency Center....she decided to check that one off in the last 10 days in Orlando.

I was relaxing on the couch enjoying some peace & quiet when my phone rang.....

It was Robby asking extremely calmly what ER he should go to. I asked "For an adult or child?" He said "child," I said "who?" thinking he was surely advising a neighbor or someone. He said "Charlotte," I kept my cool as he shared the details. She was on her scooter & had quite the run in with the tailgate of the big red Texas truck. She ended up with a 3/4inch gash on her right cheek & quite the bumps & bruises on her forehead. She was wearing a helmet but when her cheek made contact with the tailgate she moved her head in a way that her forehead was the next to make contact. According to the story, there was a lot of blood, a lot of tears & some concern about whether there would be a shot involved & if she would have a boy doctor or a girl doctor. Dad of the year, Rob was said to be cool, calm & collected as usual & handled Charlotte very well. He road in the backseat next to the injured child while his Dad drove them to the ER. I was updated via text & calls as I sat nervously on the couch at Halie's. I HATED not being there!! Long story short, they were able to glue the gash together after a quick saline rinse. No shots + no stitches +  new Minnie mouse bubbles+ a Chick-Fil-A milkshake = a giggly girl that was expected to make a full recovery. I got to talk with her twice that evening & missed her like crazy. I knew that Grammy, Papa & her Daddy were taking excellent care of her though so I was able to finish up "business" in Dallas & head home at my scheduled time two days later.

Onto some pictures of the scooter rider/crasher....

That picture on the left was the first one I got via text & it made me want to cry! Rob said that the gash itself looked much better at that point than it did when Papa carried her inside. I decided not to include the picture of the towel & shirt covered in blood : ) She was SO excited about her Minnie Mouse bubbles & so was someone else who is about two years younger. 

One thing that I want to remember about this whole experience is a conversation I had with Charlotte the day after I got home. 

Me: Charlee, tell mommy what your favorite thing you got to to while I was away. 
Char: My favorite thing was when I ran into the truck on my scooter. 
Me: (trying not to laugh) Really, that was your favorite thing?
Char: Well I really like what happened next....I got to go to the hospital. I really like the hospital mommy!
Me: I like the hospital too Char! Tell me about the hospital. 
Char: I had the best nurse mommy, she was so nice! She was pretty too. She had long brown hair to here (touching her shoulders) & one big freckle here (touching her cheek). Her name was Jackie, isn't that a beautiful name? I really like that name mommy. She took such good care of me, I think we should call her & invite her to come play at our house! 
Me: That is wonderful sweetie, I'm not sure that she would be able to come play but you could draw her a picture & send it to her. 
Char: Great idea! I will draw me & her playing tennis because that is what I would like to do if nurse Jackie came to our house. 

I was feeling quite indebted to this precious nurse that took care of my baby while I was away & mentioned it to Robby later that evening. He laughed out loud when I said which nurse it was. Apparently this nurse was perfectly cut & dry with Char. She was said to have stepped in the room for no more than a minute, said "You are going to look like a unicorn tomorrow" made sure they were doing alright & stepped out. That is it! But to Charlotte, in comparison to every other nurse or physician there that sweet talked her, she stood out as the best nurse! That tells so much about her personality! She is not interested in baby talk ; )

We stayed out of the sun for the first week & watched the bruising change colors. On day 9 post crash, our friend Heather who works in a Pediatric office took a peek at her cheek & said that we could just give the loose end of the glue a tug & it would come off easily. She was right & this girl was all smiles in stage two of recovery which entails some lotion & sunscreen every day!

Love that sweet girl & missed being a part of the monumental first ER visit. I have feeling it won't be the last for our rowdy bunch. We are about to have a couple buckaroo's on their feet & that middle child...my guess is that she will be the one to max out our deductible at some point with all her antics!