Purple Eye and A Broken Nose

Just the other day, I looked back in the car and looked at my kiddos.

I said to Nate, "We have beautiful children, every last one of them. They're all gorgeous."

I guess I shouldn't be so vain, because this is what happened this week.

My beautiful kids faces took a beating.

Emma was playing duck duck goose with cousins when someone's head ran into her eyebrow. It was a pretty good lump she had there. On the way home, Clay told her she was going to have a black eye and she started bawling, like... hysterically. So, in an attempt to calm her down, I lied and told her she wouldn't. After a thorough "exam" it was determined that she would have a purple eye, like eyeshadow. She liked that. Now I'm wondering what she thinks a black eye is because Nate called her over yesterday, "come here and let me look at that black eye." I wish that I had my camera to capture the look that she gave him...like she was going to slug him and start crying all at the same time. I quietly reminded him that it was a purple eye, like eyeshadow. That fixed everything.

blurry picture, but it was all that I got

Tonight at about 6:40, I got a phone call from Sam, who was practicing before his game at 7. The conversation went something like this.

Mom, you on your way?

Just putting Henry in his car seat. I'm leaving right away. Do you need something?

I just hurt my nose a little bit.

Are you ok?

Yeah, I'll just talk to you when you get here. I just wondered if you were coming early.

Are you sure you're ok?

I'll just see you when you get here.

As I was walking on the field, the coach of the opposing team and a friend of ours says something like, "that was a pretty good hit Sam took with a ball. Coach says it's probably broken."

Me trying not to freak out...um, really? I haven't seen Sam yet. When I did see him I just wanted to cry because his nose was so swollen and he couldn't even breathe out of his nose. He was just dabbing the blood with a tissue. I know it's not cool for 11 year olds to have their moms doting on them, but I had to kiss his gorgeous, although swollen and bruised, face.

Sam tells me that they were catching balls that one of the dads was batting to them. His friend, who was about 10 yards behind him, caught the ball and threw it to Sam, who tipped it right off his mitt onto his nose, straight on. Sam said that his friend felt so guilty, and he didn't want him to feel any worse, so he told him that at least it was after pictures, and at least it wasn't his arm. What a good attitude. I wanted to kiss him again when he told me that. Then...get this...he is such a good kid...he says that he doesn't want his friend to feel any worse, so he wants to stay and watch the game. So, I relent and we stay for the first inning, and by then I can see that he is so annoyed and irritated by the situation that I needed to take him home, or have it seen. That was quite the dillemma because I was pretty sure there was nothing they could do for a broken nose. But, I decided that it wouldn't hurt..besides the $100 I would have to fork out... and Sam, Clay, Henry and I went to the ER.

That was when I was happy to have connections there. We had the amazing ENT who was not even on call come and take a look at Sam. Diagnosis: broken septum. Solution: nothing. Other Diagnosis: septal hematoma {after the ER Dr. had told me he had never seen that happen, although it is standard procedure to watch for that} Solution: "surgery" where the Dr. numbed up his nose {inside} and used a syringe to draw out the blood. When the blood pooled back up, he had to make an incision so that the blood would continue to drain. If the blood is allowed to stay, the pressure builds up and causes damage to the cartilage and deformation of the nose.

Glad we went to the ER.

the scratches are from a dog biting his nose

Well, whether this was a curse for my vanity and pride, I will never know.

I still think they are beautiful, no matter what their faces look like.