Have I ever told you how much I like graphic violence and horror tales? No? That must be because I don't. I'm so wimpy I have to leave the room during parts of the Princess Bride. The whole six finger thing just kind of grosses me out.
Of course, being a mother of five children means that there are times when I have to repress my over-active gagging reflex and pretend to be the mature one in the situation. Take getting shots, for example, I can hold their hands, comfort them, and tell them it'll only hurt for a second, but don't expect me to watch while the nurse cuts off their circulation and pokes them with a needle. No way.
With as squeamish as I am, it's actually quite a miracle that my girls ever get their ears pierced. If the piercing process wasn't bad enough, the whole cleaning and teaching them how to insert and remove earrings takes quite the motherly sacrifice on my part. Of course, I do it just to see their lollipop stained smiles of glee at officially joining the world of the bejeweled.
But then something like THIS happens....
That would be her earring embedded into the middle of her ear, pushed there by a stray ball in gym class. It was stuck as stuck gets, not budging forward or backward even a tiny bit. It didn't take long before I was well on my way to, um, for lack of a better phrase, freaking out.
After even the pediatrician threw up her hands and sent us to an ENT (ear, nose, and throat specialist), I knew we were in for a rocky road. Six long hours later (most of which were spent in the waiting room), after several numbing shots, a tiny little scalpel, and eventually giving a whole new meaning to the phrase, "In one ear and out the other..." or in this case "In one side of the ear and out the other side..." we have a couple of decisions to make.
And what about Ellie you say? I've already got her piercing date all set up for her birthday in 2035.
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Nothing much worse than stray balls flying around in gym class. Always an accident looking for a place to happen.
ReplyDeletePoor Emmakins! Just give it a week or so to heal up and it will grow back like new.
She sure is a cutie in her bejeweled look.
Love, Grandma-Grandpa
Emma, I will be more than happy to kiss it and make it all better. I love to give kisses.
ReplyDeleteOuch, I hope that you are okay, Emma. Stray balls had a tendency to knock my glasses off all the time. Thankfully, my glasses never went through any part of my body.
ReplyDeleteWow. That really is a freak accident. I've had pierced ears for probably 20 years and nothing like this ever happened! I would let her keep her piercings... but take them out for activities that may be hazardous.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen that happen before. What are the chances of that happening to you and your daughter?!?!?!
ReplyDeletePoor Emma. I hope it wasn't too painful for her. I definitely think it should be her choice whether to keep wearing earrings.
ReplyDeleteSounds much worse than my one traumatic earring experience. I won't give all the gory details but it involved hoop earrings and a hairbrush. Ouch.
I may be just as squeamish as you, because it was difficult to even read this post! I'm glad I wasn't the mom.
ReplyDelete...but...I still think that Emma should get to choose if she wants to put the ring back in after it's healed.
I would have never thought that could happen! I would still let her wear them after her ears heal. Except not in gym class. I doubt it would never happen again, but still...
ReplyDeleteThat's so crazy.
Poor girl! What are the odds? And isn't free agency as far as our kids are concerned, the scariest?
ReplyDeleteThe pediatrician threw up in her hands?? What?? Was it that gross or was the doc a bit under the weather to begin with?
ReplyDeleteEmma, hope your ear is feeling better! It's difficult to be a jock and a fashionista at the same time.