Well, the good news is that my son has survived and will heal with a very interesting scare. The bad news? He got 15 stitches in his chin!
James has only recently learned how to ride a two wheeler so couple that with the fact that the "new" bike we bought to celebrate moved the brakes from the pedals (where he was used to them being) to the handlebars spelled disaster. He loves flying down the hill outside our house and has been doing so since we moved in. He always timed the brakes just right so he would stop just where he wanted to. This time however, he misjudged something and wound up in a heap on the ground and his chin meeting the curb. He even lost one of his shoes! I didn't see this happen, although I could hear him screaming and was already on my way out when the neighbor kids all descended en mass on our doorstep to deliver the news.
I hauled him inside with the hope that since head wounds, no matter where they are always bleed copiously and that it would not need stitches. I have had lots of stitches, especially in the head area (can you tell I was an accident prone child?) and couple that with my military medical training I felt confident that I could care for it. However, as soon as I got him to calm down enough to remove his helmet and got the blood wiped away so I could see it, I knew he'd have to go it. It was over an inch long, and very deep. For those that don't have experience with head wounds, they always bleed like a stuck pig but surface abrasions are easy to care for as long as they aren't too deep. However, if you can see the layer of subcutaneous fat, go to the ER because you'll need medical care. It's highly likely you'll need stitches.
So Carey hauled him the few blocks to the hospital and proceeded to spend the next three hours there. He said James was a little trooper and did very well. He actually fell asleep while they were stitching him up (this is something I've always done to deal with bad pain as well but I didn't realize that it was inherited; I slept through most of my labor with both of my boys).
In hindsight, I should not have sent Carey with James. Carey has never had major stitches, so he didn't know how to answer any of James' questions. He is also notorious with his queasiness at the sight of blood. He said he felt faint as he was holding James' hand, but it wasn't until they had to trim the jagged flesh from around the wound that he had to lay down on the floor. :D
In the end it wound up being a wonderful bonding experience for them, although, I wish James needn't have gone through that pain and fear for it to happen. It was also only last night that we hit a "WHY" time with James such as why does Deedee have candy and not me, why is the moon orange and why do I have to wear my helmet? So ensued about a 10 minute talk about they why and wherefores of bicycle safety but we could tell it wasn't sinking in. He's barely old enough to really start reasoning and he was having trouble wrapping his brain around the fact he has to wear the helmet because he "might" get hurt. So Carey got the bright idea of googling pictures of bicycle accident victims and showing James. He didn't shield him because he wanted him to understand just how important this was. A while later, while James was working on his homework, Carey took out the trash. He came running back in and hauled James off with no explanation.
After a few minutes, they returned with James looking a little shaken and upset. Apparently, when taking out the trash, Carey noticed a commotion at the end of our street and being the concerned citizen he is, of course he had to poke his nose in. :D A bicyclist had gotten hit by a car, wasn't wearing a helmet and got a nasty head wound. Not one to waste this fortuitous opportunity, of course he came running back to show James first hand what can happen. It must have made an impression because he didn't whine at all when happily securing his helmet today with no premonition that very shortly it would become very important. Although it didn't prevent James' chin getting torn up, a witnessing adult said his head was thrown forward and only the protruding plastic on the front of helmet kept him from getting hurt a lot worse. He wore an Alibi Helmet by Bell.
Here are some of the links we found:
- Federal Highway Administration
- bicyclinginfo.org ~ Educating Children & Teens
- Revolution Health
- Bicyclesafe.com ~ How Not To Get Hit By Cars ~ This is especially important in a world where bicycles are increasingly becoming a major mode of transportation.
- Kids Health ~ Written for kids to understand, has some good pictures of hand signals. These too are very important, especially when riding as a group. Carey and I have adapted the many hand signals we learned to use in our extensive military vehicle experience. It's nice to know when the bike ahead of you is stopping or doing something else unexpected!
- International Bicycle Fund ~ Teaching Children Bicycle Safety
Curriculum:
- Bicycle Safety ~ grades 3-5
- Bike Safety Lesson Plan and Activities ~ PreK - K
- The Educator's Referance Desk ~ Bicycle Rodes
- Ed Helper Bicycle Safety Unit ~ requires paid membership
- Instructor Web ~ general safety
- Bike Safety Sheets ~ A quick quiz-type fun worksheet
- Traffic Safety Unit Study
- Protect Your Melon
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