Toddlers and Accidents

As many people know, even individuals without children, there are going to be accidents when there is a toddler walking around. They are constantly getting into everything and making messes. Many toddlers (atleast mine) love to play with the pots/pan in the kitchen cabinets, loves to put their little fingers in our drinking cups and knocking it over, and loves pulling out all the toys (after you've just cleaned them up). I always knew that the "terrible two's" would require a bit more discipline and alot more watching! But accidents can happen in a blink of an eye.

It was a normal Thursday morning (September 9, 2010) when I woke Gray up and got him ready for school. Yes, I call daycare school because he has learned so much while he's been there, even "Go Cocks" (and we are Clemson fans, but that is a different story). Anyway, I drop him off like normal and I head to work. I am only at work for 2 hours before I get a call from his daycare stating that there had been an accident. Like any mother I am sure, I started panicking. Finally they told me that his finger was caught in the door while they were outside. I know of the multiple times I've slammed my finger in the door it hurt like heck but eventually it goes away and all is good. This was not one of them cases. The assistant director told me over the phone that he probably needed to be seen by a medical professional and that they could not get the bleeding to stop. I get off the phone with her and I am out of the office door within 2 minutes. After a horrendous 30 minute drive (felt much longer) I get to the daycare to find that the bleeding had stopped but this is what his finger looked like....



When I saw this I immediately started crying. I called Daddy (his daddy) as soon as I got in the car and he couldn't understand a word I was saying because I was crying so hard. Needless to say, I took him to the Urgent Care in Lexington because his Doctor's office was booked solid and they were going to make me go all the way Downtown to be seen at the other office. We get to the Urgent Care around 10:45 and it take 2 HOURS to be seen by a Doctor and then another 2 HOURS to get out of there!! They really need to learn how to be more efficient there! After he was finally seen the Doctor tells us that the nail bed was ripped from the matrix (which helps grow your nail) but luckily the matrix was still intact. He pushes the back part of the nail back under the skin and puts 2 stitches at the nail bed and 1 stitch on each side of the finger. They did take some X-rays and luckily the finger was not broken. :) The Doctor did advice us that he will need to wear a splint for 12 days.


We ended up redoing the splint when we got home to make it a little more sturdy. It has now been a week and Gray has done so well with the stitches and the splint. He has an appointment with his pediatrician on Tuesday to get the stitches out and that is when we will know a little more about what to expect regarding the growth of his nail.

But as you can see accidents can happen....and they can happen anywhere! And for those who are wondering....yes, he is back at the same daycare. I'm getting asked that alot! Accidents happen and not only do we love the teachers, Gray is very happy there. And that is what you look for when choosing a center. :)