Stitches for Josh

It has been a rough week for Team Garland.

To recap, Sarah broke her arm last weekend while we were camping with friends from church. I still need to post photos of that, when I can catch my breath.

This weekend Josh was riding his bike out in the front yard, like he does every day, and fell and hit his chin hard on the concrete sidewalk. We headed to the ER, and he got stitches for a big gash just under his chin. The ER doc was concerned for his jawbone, so Josh also got a CAT scan and x-rays to check for any fractures. Actually, the ER physician looked right at the jawbone, in the gash. I saw the fracture as well. Yes, folks, I saw my son's jawbone, the real, white bone, without the use of an x-ray. It was a big gash.

It turns out his jaw has a slight crack and chip, but it doesn't require surgery (surgery would have been to wire Josh's jaw closed to let the bone heal). Praise God! So, Josh is doing much better today. I don't know how many stitches he got (I haven't had a chance to count them yet) but I'm guessing around 12. His mouth is still very tender and he will be eating only soft foods (bring on the yogurt, applesauce and ice cream) for a week. Poor guy. But he was such a trooper through the whole ordeal.

Josh's bike. (The evil culprit.) This bike used to be purple, it's a hand-me-down from Sarah, and the devoted Mr. Garland painted it red.

Josh loves to ride his bike. Every day. Many times a day.

Josh listening to Veggietales in the ER. He loved being able to borrow Sarah's CD player.

X-rays of Josh's jawbone.

Who needs a wheel chair when you've got a snazzy stroller?

Red lights align Josh's head with the cat scan.

Enough with the ER visits already! Some of the nurses actually recognized me from my visit with Sarah last week. I don't want to go to the hospital again for a very, very long time.

(big sigh and grin)