Every parent has received that call from the school nurse, “Mrs. Ames it is X from the nurses office, Everything is fine but…” You never have to actually go to the school. Usually it’s because the child is avoiding math (not my child, of course) or they bumped heads with a classmate (okay, probably Bridget).  Then it happens, you get the call when you have to go to the school to pick up your child.

It happened to me, just the other day.

“Hi Mrs. Ames, this is X from the nurses office”, she calmly said, “Bridget is here and she I think she might need stitches or sutures.”  Holy freaking crap. What happened, I asked. Apparently, my child’s coordination was directly inherited from her mother. As she was reaching into her cubby to get her snack, she fell into the cubby and hit her head hard enough to not only bruise her cheekbone but to possibly require stitches.

As I drive to the school, I get another phone call. Bridget is looking a little pale so we’ve laid her down, you might need more than the Urgi care.  I felt so bad for her teacher and the nurses. Bridget really scared them.  I think I alarmed them with my lack of alarm. When I got to the school I assured them I was fine to drive her to the Urgi care. Not to be laid back, but I have driven Bridget to the ER 40 minutes away in worse conditions.  Once in a blizzard.

Thankfully the Uri care gets us right in to see the doctor. They glue her eyebrow back together (kindly asking Bridget not to move so much because they do not want to glue her eye shut). Bridget, who never says she is in pain, tells them “head really hurt”. They suggest a CAT scan. When I remind them that she needs to be sedated, they rethink their suggestion (after all, hello possible head injury who would sedate that?).  On the way home she broke into her lunch box and ate her ‘Newtons. Four hours after falling into her cubby she was her same old self.

Of course the Bridget mom in me, does wonder if she is having balance issues or a depth perception concern. The fact that she in no way tried to break her fall is slightly alarming. Though her speech therapist reminded me that she did break her fall, with her eyebrow.

The next day I sent her back to school. She cheerfully pointed to her eye and told her teacher, “I go to doctor. He glued me”.  Two hours later, again my phone rings. “Mrs. Ames this is X from the school nurses office.” Of course my first thought was, for Cripes sake keep her away from the freaking cubby. Apparently I was supposed to get a doctor’s note for Bridget to return to school (did I mention she was back to her old self).  Thankfully they did not make me come and get her.

Day 2 post head injury, we visit the pediatrician.  They ask if I think Bridget is at her baseline. I reply, sure until you tell her she cannot go to swimming then she is going to be past baseline straight to nuclear.  They give me the note to go back to school (no swimming, gym or recess for a week-but left me to break the news to her). As I left the doctor’s office I remembered that Abby was in first grade when she received her first stitches.  We call that the bathroom scar. We can call this one the Strano scar. It will add character.

Holy crap, we made a typical milestone.