Article Contributed on: 7/2/2009 4:15:09 PM
Sometimes it really annoys me that I have to go to school to
officially become a nurse. Not to mention all the time away from my
family, and money it will cost to get the degree. I'd like to just
type up a résumé that says something about being a mom for almost 10
years, and that should just get me a great job. But no. There's all
kinds of things I have to know about the human body first, which my
sister says she never uses in her job as a nurse. She's a triage
nurse and says that when people call in, she never uses fancy technical words like
"which phalange was severed?" It's more like, "What finger did he cut
off?"
Yesterday I looked out the back window and saw Jack carrying Will to
the deck. This is no small feat, since Will's ginormous. As Jack was
bringing him inside, Will kept repeating, "Stillllll not crying. Stillllll
not crying." Naturally I was curious. I wondered what the injury
might be, that isn't enough to make him cry, but was enough that his 9
year old brother had to carry him all the way inside.
Once he was settled at the kitchen table, where I do most of my
medical work, I saw that this was going to be a doozy. The baby
phalange (or "toe" for the layperson), was bloody. As I continued to
clean the wound, I realized the toenail was hanging on by a thread.
At this point I wondered if I should continue to clean the wound, or
just throw up. Will had not broken out into tears yet, so I decided
throwing up was not an option. I got back to work, and focused on
the task at hand (or foot as it were). With my tools: a piece of gum
for the wounded, the toe nail clippers, a wet paper towel, and I
began. The deed was done in a matter of seconds. A little bit of
Neosporin, and the last band aid in the cupboard--and the healing could
now begin.
I told Will that he needed to wear shoes outside until this healed a
bit, so I began to wash his feet. As I cleaned off several layers of
dirt, I noticed a splinter the size of a decent log, in his other
foot. This news disturbed Will. For it involved a needle. This time
there were tears. His, mostly. But I happen to be "Master Splinter
Remover" at our house, and that sucker was out in minutes.
There's going to be more injuries I'm sure. I'll try not to complain
about them, but instead see them as practice, or at least something to
put on my résumé.