Blowout!

Yesterday Catherine took a header on the stairs at the American Club playground and busted open the area above her eye. A a friend of ours carried Catherine over to us and Catherine was not even crying, but blood was streaming down her face. We rinsed it with water and applied some pressure and headed home. We cleaned it better at home and applied some of Grandpa Coach's super-duper antibiotic ointment and a steri strip and off Catherine went with daddy to the local hospital ER.

Dave and Catherine were seen fairly soon (by ER standards) and they thought stitches would be necessary. Another doctor took a look and confirmed this. Luckily, the hospital policy is that any stitches on the face the plastic surgeon will do. So, Dave and Catherine waited while they called him in. Catherine slept for awhile in her stroller while Dave kept Robin updated by phoning home periodically. (Robin was home with baby Caroline). The plastic surgeon gave Catherine TWO shots as a local anesthetic near the gash. Catherine layed down and remained perfectly still and quiet while she received the shots and the doctor asked Dave "Is she okay?" Dave said the most Catherine did was a small quiver of her bottom lip, but never cried. The doctor put in NINE stitches and applied antibiotic ointment and sent them on their way. Altogether, they were gone just over 3 hours. Not bad for a visit to the ER. We decided if that had happened in the States, they would have taken one look at her sleeping soundly in her stroller and had her seen by the next day sometime!!!

This picture was taken the day after the accident and after returning from a birthday party. Catherine has not slowed down one bit and does not seemed phased by her new boo-boo. Our friends all asked us "How is it that she is SO stoic and doesn't cry?" We said that her grandpa Coach told her over and over this summer (so every time she fell or banged her arm, leg, head, etc. ) that "YOU CAN'T HURT STEEL!"