One of those weekends….
It’s not often a Mum kicks off her weekend by splitting her head open chasing a toddler around a playground, but folks, last weekend that was me.
It began with Friday afternoon – a simple play date at the park. A park that happens to contain a playground, border a beach and be surrounded by cliffs and bush. Perfect for three adventurous boys. I was feeling on my game that day, so I thought that taking all three kids would be manageable – admittedly knowing friends would help out.
The afternoon didn’t go to plan. I was shadowing my youngest as he tore through the playground and as I tried to stop him leaping off a precarious ledge, I whacked my head on a sharp steel edge. The force cut my head open – and while I was bleeding and feeling rather shaken, my toddler was fine, saved by a friend as I fell to the ground. Fortunately my husband came to our rescue, took us home and I medicated with gin that night.
But we were on a roll. The next day, the same toddler pushed through our stair gate and fell down two steps flat onto his face. Yet more blood and cuts – so off to hospital we went. Thankfully the injuries were mild, but we all know that any hospital trip isn’t much fun except that it reassures you how excellent healthcare is in this country! The nice emergency doctor didn’t give me a lecture on ensuring stair gates are secure at all times either – what a good man. There was more gin that night, and a lot of Netflix.
The final act to the weekend was yet another little injury to the same toddler. No hospital this time, just a minor cut and graze below his lip – a result of our bruiser boy simply tripping over his own large, wide feet. He was fine, but it was really one of those weekends where you surrender to fate and realise that things do happen in threes.
The three positive things I’ve taken from this little chain of events are knowing that my friends do indeed know head injury first aid; my husband can exit a long Friday lunch at record speed to come to our rescue; and that we can pull off a successful family outing to hospital at 5pm on a Saturday evening. The hospital vending machine certainly got a workout. Thank you Sydney Children’s!
