How's this for a M@sterCard commercial?

A day of preschool tution: $16
ER co-pay: $75
Lesson about obedience: priceless

No? Okay then. We use a Vis@ check card anyway.

It has been a little over 6 weeks since our last trip to the ER so we thought we would take another trip. His shirt says it all. The funny thing is that when he decided to wear this shirt this morning, I jokingly thought to myself, "I hope this isn't an indicator of things to come!" The 1st photo is before the trouble. Just a goofy boy playing on his school playground. For the 2nd photo, fast forward 2 hours. Let me fill you in on what happened in between.

Tanner has always had a thing for ground covering at playgrounds. In his 4 1/2 years we have been to many playgrounds and I think we have experienced every imaginable ground covering. When I say "experienced", I really mean it. During any given playground visit, Tanner spends at least half the time playing with the ground covering. Prior to being a parent, I didn't realize how many options there were to break a child's fall at playgrounds; sand, pea gravel, recycled tires, and a spongy astroturf type substance. (The astroturf substance drives Tanner crazy, because it stays put. When we was littler he tried unsuccessfully to pick it up with his fingers.) Finally there is bark (which incidentally is called "tan bark" out here in California. Regardless of the color, it is called "tan bark". When I call it bark or mulch, I get blank stares. It is as though I speak a different language. Anyone of you non-California peeps ever heard of this?) Call it what you will, this "tan bark" was the culprit in our most recent adventure to the ER. As I said, Tanner loves to play with the ground covering. He enjoys digging in it, kicking it, throwing it, and rolling in it. I don't mind the digging, but the kicking, throwing, and rolling are problems. I always warn him that he could get it in his eyes, get a sliver, hurt someone elses eyes... blah, blah blah. After I ask him to stop, he *usually* stops for a bit, but pretty soon, his fascination gets the best of him and he is right back at it.

This day, he was doing his typical thing and just as I walked over to tell him to stop throwing himself onto the ground head first, it happened. He got a piece of bark caught in his eye. I caught a quick glimpse of the bark, and then it disappeared into the depths of his eye socket. After futile attempts to wash it out of his eye (which included quite a bit of flailing and screaming), I concluded that we needed the help of a professional. So I gave Tanner strict instructions not to touch, rub, poke, or scratch his eye. I loaded the kids into the car, and called Brandon asking him to call our insurance carrier to get authorization to get him seen. (I figured Brandon would have better luck communicating without the screaming in the background). We ended up going to the ER, and with the help of 4 people holding him down, an excellent physician with incredible pediatric bedside manner, and some special drops the "speck" was removed. It was impressive in size and I couldn't believe it was lodged between his eyeball and the inner corner of his eye. We were sent home with aftercare instructions and a prescription should the eye show signs of infection. So far, so good. 

The silver lining to the story: Tanner *finally* now seems to fully comprehend my warnings about why it is not okay to roll around on the ground at the playground. Hopefully this is an experience we can point back to as we continue to parent him as a way to demonstrate how our warnings are in his best interest. Thankfully the "price tag" on this was only the $75 co-pay and his eye is fine. A small price to pay for a valuable lesson.

   

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ER_oh_how_we_missed_you..zip (184 KB)