Reality Check

I had myself a little reality check over the weekend and quite honestly it has rattled me quite a bit.

The reality of the fact that really bad things can happen in literally a second caught up with me and I learned a lesson the hard way.

One of my boys had an accident that, while really bad, could have been much, much worse and any kind of parental pedestal that I might have felt worthy of standing on has been knocked out from beneath me.

I was right there….chatting in the open foyer with another mom who was about to host a play date between her boys and mine.  The boys, over the moon excited to see each other, had already run outside to play with neighborhood kids and announced that they were going to “throw the football around.”  We finished up chatting and I headed out to say “good-bye” to my boys only to see Thatcher running up the hill that collapses down to the end of their very quiet street. Thatcher was pretty close to hysterical saying, “Finn is really hurt…and it is really, really bad.”

And then…there was Finn…with more blood than I ever care to see again…and crying harder than I’ve ever had to endure.  The helpless, sickening feeling that hits you in the moment you realize that you dropped the ball…that you let your child escape your watchful eye just long enough for a horrible accident to happen, is nothing short of debilitating.

“Throwing the football”….just like that…had turned into Finn hopping on a scooter and underestimating the size of a pretty big hill.  While I didn’t witness it, I can only imagine the speed that he reached, prior to falling and hitting the ground. The gash in his forehead…just between his eyes…paints a picture that I’ll never forget.

You can imagine how the rest of the story unfolds.  There was ice, towels, blood, more blood, grabbing of necessary items, a scary ride to the hospital, tears, more tears, the check-in, guilt, more guilt, and finally stitches.   Finn was an utter pillar of amazingness.  I’ve never seen a braver child…and for that I am eternally grateful.

A fews hours later, we were back in our car….and then, just like that, the story, amazingly, got a little bit funny.

Finn, while slurping his fudgsicle, said nonchalantly to Thatcher, “Hey.  I think that doctor, the one who stitched my head, was on Naked and Afraid.”

For those of you who may not know….  Naked and Afraid is a “reality” TV show, on the Discovery Channel, in which they drop a man and a woman (strangers) off in a very remote location and they need to survive…naked…and evidently afraid….for 21 days.  Let the record state, that they blur out any “private parts” and my boys enjoy watching the show with my husband because of the nature and survival aspects of the experience.  While I type those words, I do realize that is sounds similar to “reading Playboy for the articles” but, I really do mean it. Each episode follows two different survivalists.  Sometimes one bails, sometimes they both quit, and sometimes both endure the challenges, and make it to the end.  The next episode then chronicles the experiences of two totally different daring participants.  Meaning, there are no reoccurring characters on the show.

So….when Finn announced that his doctor had been on the show…I of course assumed he was wrong.  This was the same kid who, after all, had thought it wise to take his first ride ever on a scooter down a large hill…just hours before.

Back home in Rockport…dazed, exhausted, and overwhelmed…Finn’s stitches began to bleed.  Drained, I picked up the phone and called the hospital to seek advice.  They talked me through what to do….and then for kicks…I had to ask. Because, upon thinking about it, his doctor was wearing hiking boots.

“My 5 year old son seems to think his doctor appeared on a TV show called Naked and Afraid.”

“Well then, your son is very observant, because she sure did.”

So, good on you, Finn.  In the aftermath of a horrendous spill, your little 5 year-old self, managed to recognize someone from a 60-minute episode of a show, that aired on July 27th, who was naked, dirty, and exhausted as the same woman who was now dressed, in a hospital, calming your mother, and tending to your very bad wound.  You never fail to amaze me!

From Reality television show, to my reality check.

Meet Finn’s doctor.