Dax's Stitches

Dax waiting patiently to see the doctor. He is still hoping for no stitches.

Mom and Dad were sitting on the bed when we heard a blood-curdling scream. It was loud enough that we actually looked at each other, wondering if someone was injured, or if the boys were just arguing. Mom went out and immediately moved Dax off the carpet as blood was streaming down his leg. Dad set him up on the counter and grabbed the paper towels. By the time he'd soaked up most of the blood, he could see it was a pretty serious injury. A large V had been gashed into Dax's knee. It was wide, deep, and long. Mom got on the phone and called the doctor and we loaded up in the van. Though the bleeding stopped pretty quickly, the wound looked pretty nasty.  Dax was really brave, even as Dad was guessing that 16 stitches were needed. He was great with the pain, but fretted quite a bit about the actual process of getting stitches. (Sorry the pictures are Not Safe For Wusses.)

He was so sad!

We arrived at the doctor's office, and they took us right back. The doctor took one look at Dax's knee and guessed it would take ten stitches to close it up. She gave Dax a half dozen shots to numb the wound, which he took surprisingly well. Mom and Mark went to take Seth, who freaks out over blood, back to the lobby, but Dax wanted Mark to hold his hand. With Mark's help, Dax was much braver. The doctor put in nine stitches, and by the end, Dax was pretty excited that he had a bloody sock like Curt Schilling, and it hadn't even been very painful! The doctor was really nice, and Dax even told her thank you when she finished.

The doctor and nurse were so nice and patient with Dax.

Mark was such a great big brother and held Dax's hand the whole time.

Ouch!

Still ouch, but at least it's sewn back together.

Dax has to have the stitches in for 10 days, and then they will reevaluate the wound and see if they can come out, or if he needs to leave them in longer. The doctor told Dax to take it easy, and try to keep his leg straight. He has taken this very seriously, despite having a busy weekend with a funeral, and then a field trip at school. He limps around right now, and has Mom and Dad help him get his socks and shoes on. We can tell that it has been an emotionally draining injury, too. Dax never complains and does everything he is asked to do. We hope that it heals quickly and Dax can return to his normal speedy self!

We let Dax pick the dinner spot. He chose JCW's so he could eat cheese fries!