So the call comes around 2pm.
You know the call. The one you hope you never get.
“Hi, it’s the school here. Flea has had a bit of an accident.”
The teacher explains that somehow, during PE, Flea was hit in the head with a hockey ball, it’s quite a nasty bump, and the nurse has recommended we go to A&E. Can I come and collect her?
I ditch everything (including the new puppy who came home on Wednesday evening – thanks Lindy for emergency puppy-sitting) and jump into the car.
When I arrive at school, one of the teachers brings Flea to meet me.
I manage to establish that she was hit hard enough by a hockey ball that she fell over. She didn’t lose consciousness. She hasn’t been sick, but she is dizzy.
She’s deathly pale, with a nasty bruise and a bump the size of a Creme Egg on her forehead.
“We’ve had an ice pack on it, and the bump has really gone down a lot,” says one teacher, prompting me to wonder just how bloody enormous is must have been in the first place.
I can tell from Flea’s little face that she’s trying desperately not to cry in front of other people. Flea HATES to cry in front of people – it’s her Northern genes, I’m sure of it.
I manage not to say what I’m really thinking to Flea’s incredibly lovely class teacher who is trying to tell Flea that he’s put her homework into her schoolbag. (What I’m thinking is, “I couldn’t give a TOSS about homework, my baby is broken and it’s ALL YOUR FAULT,” but I accept that wouldn’t be especially productive or accurate if I said it out loud. It feels true, though, in the moment.)
We head up to the local A&E department, ice pack in place, Flea by now letting herself have a good old whimper. I feel like having a good cry myself, to be fair.
I try and keep Flea talking, vaguely aware that I should be monitoring her for signs of confusion, but she says it hurts when she talks and can we please not talk. Would it be okay if I just held her hand?
We sit in A&E and by the world’s biggest stroke of luck, we’re seen almost straight away. Everyone is really kind with Flea, and the nurses and doctors do their very best to blow her hair out of the way so they don’t have to touch her head.
A few tests and Flea’s given a clean bill of health – the bump is continuing to go down, and there are no signs of any neurological problems. It’s just going to hurt for a while. And be a monster of a bruise, it looks like.
Luckily the A&E doctor confirmed Flea’s suspicion that the recommended treatment protocol for a head injury of this type involves large quantities of chocolate ice cream.
She didn’t say it, but I took it to mean we both deserved copious amounts of ice cream.
Better safe than sorry.
Thank goodness it wasn’t more serious…hard balls and heads should never meet!! Poor thing – I hope the ice cream helped!
thank goodness it wasn’t more serious! What a scare for you though, I dread that phone Call!
I definitely think lots of ice cream and cuddles are in order for you both x
Definitely!
I’m glad she’s ok. Those calls really do make your blood turn to ice. We had one last year and nobody was close to pick my daughter up, the poor pickle had to wait nearly an hour for someone to come to her rescue.
It’s great that Flea was seen so quickly. Was it quite empty or did A&E prioritise her because of her injury type / age? Our local hospital has a separate queue and waiting room for kids which is a blessing!
We have a children’s A&E department within A&E in our local hospital, and with it being middle of the day in the week, it was pretty quiet, there were only two people in front of us when we arrived, so thankfully it was super speedy.
Oh poor Flea and poor you. I dread that call too. May I recommend Ben and Jerry’s Pfish Food as the idea bump on the head cure.
We went for Caramel Sutra, or whatever it’s called. Delish, at any rate.
Very good description of exactly how rubbish it feels when the school breaks your child. I hope you both feel better. 🙂
It’s just heart-stoppingly awful, isn’t it?
Oh poor Flea! Definitely the kind of phone call that you never want to have and I am so glad it wasn’t more serious. I also hope the chocolate ice cream worked it’s magic! x
Thanks Donna, it was horrible, but ice cream was delish!
oh poor Flea, glad she got a clean bill of health though. Hope she’s feeling better now
Thanks – she was SO brave, but me? Little bit less so…
So pleased Flea is OK. You must have been scared to death. Lots of cuddles for you now x
She’s been cuddled non-stop!
Well done to both of you for holding it together during a really horrible time. I’ve seen the results from a hockey ball hitting someone’s face and it’s quite shocking, although fortunately it was mainly bruising didn’t result in any broken bones.
Fingers crossed that Flea doesn’t develop a sporting injury competitive streak, where she goes around comparing bruises and numbers of broken bones….. Antonia x
She is now oddly proud of her black eye and forehead bump. Ugh.
Oh poor Flea! I haven’t experienced this yet – it must be awful when they get hurt when you’re not around. Sounds as though she was an incredibly brave little girl, though. I hope you both ‘accidentally’ dribbled ice cream all over the homework!
I concur chocolate ice cream works wonders .
It is usually my child that gets the bumps and injuries .
Chocolate ice cream should be available on prescription.
A phone call informing you about the illness or injury of your child is the last thing you ever want… It is frightening… Thank God your little one is fine