Not a day I want to repeat anytime soon

I started today with such high hopes. It was the first day in about a month that I would have some alone time. All three kids were going to school, Richard was at work and Joyce had returned to see her parents before heading off to MA and I had no errands to run.

I was going to have some ‘me’ time and I was going to enjoy it. Of course, there was nothing I wanted to do more than take a nap and catch up on some of the things (like blogging) that I have not had time for recently. The day went pretty smoothly, one of the ladies that I have been in email/yahoo group contact with for the past couple of months popped by to say hello and drop off some mosquito patches. I wouldn’t normally have needed them, but some fool (okay, me) packed all the mozzie stuff in the container and since it is hard to find ‘good’ repellent here, we are all being eaten alive.

Anyway, Serene (my new friend) and her 3 year old son Zac came and said hi and stayed for a short chat. We are hoping to get all the kids together next week to introduce them and have a longer playdate. Serene also has a 5 year old daughter, who just started school, so it should be a good time for everyone.

After Serene, I caught up on some emails, listened to some music and just hung out reading before taking a little nap. I woke up in time to eat a late lunch and take a quick shower before going to meet the school bus at 3.30pm. I put on one of my new mozzie patches and headed out armed and dangerous. The kids came home happy and filled with tales of their new friends and teachers. Such a lovely day so far apart from the citronella stench that was now accompanying me everywhere!

The kids and I had a snack and then they headed to the basement to play with Hansen’s new stunt remote control car, which I finally got batteries for. I headed back to the 3rd floor to finish some paperwork. It was all still going great, our ayi, Xiao Liu was downstairs cleaning and preparing dinner (gotta love that), so I decided to Skype my mum and catch up with her and my dad.

After a little while the kids all came up and said they wanted to get their snacks ready for school for tomorrow. I told them they needed to wait until I was done and that I would be there in a minute. At this point Xiao Liu is doing laundry in the basement. I continue the call with my mum, when Aimee suddenly reappears with yet another tale of what ‘the little ones’ are doing. This time it is Cady. Apparently Cady is bleeding… Since Aimee is known to worry about the smallest pin prick, I asked her was it serious bleeding where you need to go to hospital or the kind that would stop before I got downstairs. She said she didn’t really know because Cady wouldn’t let her see. At this point, I am still talking with my Mum, when I see Hansen and Cady coming towards me. Cadence is holding a white hand towel to her face. As she gets closer I see that the hand towel is covered in blood!!! I immediately hang up from my Mum and rush Cadence to the bathroom to get some cold water and a closer look at the cut to her lip. It is only in the bathroom that I see the cut is serious and not a paper cut like I first thought. After coaxing the truth out of her, I come to find out that she wanted an orange and had used the sharpest knife we have in the house to try cutting it. The knife had slipped and banged into her mouth and of course had put a nice, perfect cut into her lip.

At this point I realize that ice and pressure are not going to be enough, I think she will need stitches. I try to call Richard and just get some Chinese message saying his phone is busy, so then I try Tony (our relo guy) and also get a message he is busy. I call our driver to see if Rich is with him and he says he is waiting for Richard , who is still in a meeting. I retry Tony – busy signal. I then try Justin (our other relo guy), his phone is busy!!! What the heck? So then, I try the internet, because I have no idea what to do. I have no car, no-one who speaks both English and Chinese and no idea where I can get stitches done at 5.50pm (where is Auntie Jen when you need her?),our ayi is about to leave for the day and I have three kids, one of whom is still bleeding. I google stitches, lips, cuts and find out that I do need to see a doctor and we need to get stitches. – great! At which point my cell phone rings. It is Tony, he is 10mins from our house and will pick me up and take Cady to the hospital. He tells me to grab our passports, insurance cards and a credit card. Phew!

Tony comes in explains to the Ayi that she will need to stay for an hour extra and we head out the door, just as Richard calls. I tell him what has happened and he says he will meet us at the urgent care clinic. During all this Cadence is very calm and just sitting holding an ice pack to her lip. She is such a trooper. Tony tells me that the clinic knows we are coming and they are staying open for us. Only Cadence would have an accident 10mins before the clinic closed. She asks me if we are going to get a band-aid for her lip and whether she will need a shot. I tell her I hope that is all we need, but I don’t know because I am not a doctor and the doctor will know best. Within minutes of arriving, we are in a room with a wonderful Chinese nurse and a doctor from Michigan. He takes a look at the lip and agrees that stitches would be the best course of action. As the nurse prepares everything, Cadence suddenly sees the shot and starts to cry. At this point Richard arrives and hears the ‘good news’. The doctor tells us the best way to handle it is to have me lay back and hug Cady on my chest while holding her hands. I have to wrap her legs in mine so she doesn’t kick and Richard has to hold her head still. This all sounds fine in theory, but in practice it is like trying to hold a tiger down. She may be little, but boy she is tough. She is screaming and squirming, that it takes both Richard,me and the nurse to hold her down while the doctor gives her a shot to numb her lips. With all the wriggling, screaming etc her lip has begun to bleed again and we realize that she has cut her top lip too. So she needs even more shots. Sometimes I hate being a mom. Holding your child as she screams in pain is not one of the best moments for a parent, especially when you know the worst has still to come. The next 10-15 minutes were some of the toughest moments of my life; not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. All of us were soaking wet sweating from the sheer power Cady has used in trying to escape the needle. Finally, the doctor says he is done and we can all relax. He has put two stitches in her lower lip and one in her upper lip. He says that he would have preferred to put a third in the lower, but does not want to cause her any more traumas. We all agree and make a hasty retreat for the door. Tony and Justin are waiting for us in the lobby and are both happy to see Cady smiling again. They are such amazing guys; I do not know what we would have done without their help. We say goodbye and head home at around 7.20pm (about an hour later), as Richard calls my mum to let her know Cady is okay.

Aimee and Hansen are happy to see us again and poor Xiao Liu can finally go home. We all have a quick dinner and then it is time for bed. Amazingly, as I sit writing this the kids are all fast asleep. Cady has decided to sleep with Aimee tonight incase she wakes in the night. Poor Richard looks exhausted, he had a bad day in the office, but he says that seeing Cady like she was made him realize that nothing is more important than our family. I am glad it is over, until we need to have the stitches removed in about 5 days. All that keeps going through my mind is how bad it could have been. We were all so lucky. We all learned a hard lesson today, and I know Cady’s scar will be a reminder to all of us.

Cadence, I know you are not reading this, but I want to tell you that Daddy and I love you so much. You are such a brave little girl and we are so sorry that you had to experience this evening. Please stay safe and know we will always be here to hold you when you are scared or hurting. I know you are going to be the one to make us old before our time. You are such a little rascal, but we could not love you more.
Mum & Dad

Ps: I am hoping tomorrow will be a restful day... I will post pictures of our little Rocky tomorrow.