Trauma king

Parenthood is not for sissies.

It is now 3:50 pm EST on Saturday, 24 January. Since 7:30 pm yesterday, our lives have been a wild and scary ride...

James and Aidan went over to Aidan's school last night for the offical Cub Scout Pinewood Derby car registration and weigh-in; the derby was this morning. James called me last night around 7:40 pm enroute to the ER with Aidan. At the weigh-in, Aidan was running around (after being told numerous times not to by James) when he fell and hit his mouth on a chair/bench. His lower lip was bloody and one of his front teeth was pushed in.

We were at ER until 1 am. If a pediatrician is on duty, then only the pediatrician can see pediatric patients…and there were a bunch last night. When we finally saw the ped, he couldn’t tell us much except that we needed to see an oral surgeon ASAP to determine if there was an alveloar fracture (the alveloar is the bone of the upper jaw, I think).

We called the referred oral surgeon this morning and he opened his office to meet us right away. X-rays showed no fracture, nor is the tooth broken…but we have no idea if the tooth will survive. It is an adult tooth but is still forming and erupting, so at this time, the doc will not move it into place; growth may take care of it for us. Or the tooth may be so traumatized that it dies - we just don't know. We will be spending a lot of time at the dentist to monitor the progress of the tooth.

He wrote a prescription for the antibiotic amoxycillin, a preventive measure for Aidan’s cut lip. Aidan is also restricted to soft foods for the time being, which will make lunch packing a bit challenging.

After lunch, I gave him the first dose of amoxycillin. Within 15 minutes, he was crying that his stomach hurt and that he felt itchy. He threw up, and his face started looking blotchy…holy crap, he was having an allergic reaction although he has taken the same antibiotic just a month ago for strep with no problems. We called the pediatrician, and she prescribed Benadryl to counteract the allergic reaction and a different antibiotic, and off James went to get it. She also said that an allergic reaction can develop at any time, despite past use with no problems. I was with Aidan in his bed - he was asleep by then - to monitor his breathing when suddenly he sat up, looked at me and announced that he was hungry!

He has had one dose of Benadryl so far and already looks/feels fine. I am on my first Jack and Pepsi, and am starting to feel better. But oh my goodness, what a wild time this has been…he is usually such a healthy, hearty little guy that it really threw us for a loop!

And although he was not there to race his car, the rest of his den took over, raced his car for him and he placed 2nd in the Tiger Cubs!

What she said, part 2

As I said, there would be plenty of other people who would express their thoughts and feelings about Inauguration Day 2009 far better than I could ever dream - so here are some of their words:

Franklin Habit (love him!), The Panopticon:
"For eight years, I have watched the government–my government, the one I was always taught was of, by and for the people–do everything in its power to divide the country into us and them. I have listened, shattered, as my fellow citizens have questioned my loyalty, my liberty, and my right to exist.

Well, I'm still here and I'm still loyal. This place ain't perfect, but it's mine and I love it. In spite of eight years of misrule by as sorry a pack of weasels as ever held office, I still believe that America, at its heart, is a nation founded on noble instincts and good ideas."

Leonard Pitts (love him too), The Miami Herald:
"Every four years, America gets the option of reinventing itself. You wonder if Americans really appreciate what a miracle this is.

Maybe this year, they do. Maybe in this crisis moment, with the economy broken, with war on two fronts, with palpable fatigue of the lies, alibis, incompetence, and tolerance of incompetence that have characterized the last eight years, they have a renewed appreciation for their ability as Americans, when displeased, to choose something new."

Kathleen Parker (starting to love her), The Washington Post:
"For awe is the truest word to describe what transpired and what was inspired.

It is not only awe for Obama's meteoric rise to the highest human power. It is not only that so many trekked so far to be present for the moment. It is not even awe for the peaceful transfer of power for which Americans are deservedly proud.

It is awe for what is, in fact, not change, but the natural, if difficult, progression of an ideal that is true and good and transcendent through time. Barack Obama's presidency isn't a change from, but a continuation of the American experiment toward its hoped-for destination."

Crazy Aunt Purl (girlfriend makes me laugh):
"Even if you didn't like the guy and didn't vote for him, I'd imagine you have to be amazed and surprised at how he's bringing people together to feel good about our country, even on a cold January day (well, cold in Washington D.C. I live in Los Angeles where summer started two weeks ago and people are wearing flip-flops and tank tops.)"

John Kass (just learned of him but my friend Noelle loves him), The Chicago Tribune:
"Yet his speech was a success because it tapped into that identical nerve running through moderates, liberals, conservatives and libertarians: love of country. His speech clearly told us that Obama loves this nation as an immigrant's son, a kid who grew up with a funny name, a young man who accepted the American offer to reinvent himself."

Wow. What they said.