A Trip to the ER I Will Always Remember

For Gonzaga fans, the Jalen Suggs’ overtime buzzer-beater that eliminated UCLA and advanced the Bulldogs to the national championship game will be one of those Where were you when it happened? moments. I won’t ever have to hesitate it when answering: the emergency room.

Last Saturday, my family was over at my parents’ house watching the Final Four matchup between Gonzaga and UCLA. I was downstairs watching with my brother-in-law when all of a sudden I heard a little thump followed by piercing cries from Beau. I ran up the stairs to see Beau cradled in Sid’s arms, blood dripping from his mouth.

Sid managed to tell me that he fell on the stairs and busted his bottom lip. That was about as much as I could get out of her as she announced that she was feeling like she might faint. I took Beau into my arms and my dad went and steadied Sidney. We tried our best to control the bleeding as my sister made a call to urgent care to see what we needed to do. She got off the phone and gave us the necessary direction…go to the emergency room.

Sid and I hopped in the car and I drove us to Holy Family Hospital. My dad met us at the facility and the staff checked Beau in. Although the back-and-forth basketball game was no longer my top concern, I could still keep tabs on the score as the Holy Family employees had the game on in the waiting room.

With it cleaned up a bit, you can see the wound on Beau’s bottom lip as we wait in the emergency room.

We were called back to our room. Sid jokes that the first thing I asked when we walked in was where the remote was. Overtime had started and I flipped the game on. My shirt was covered in Beau’s blood but he had calmed down a bit. I also had calmed down. I took a couple moments to reflect on the incident. Our little man had lost his balance going down the stairs on his belly and smacked his mouth on the bottom wooden corner of the staircase that supports the railing.

The arrow points to the exact spot where Beau suffered his injury.

A hospital employee entered the room a few minutes later right as Sid stepped out to use the restroom. The staffer started to ask me questions as the final 25 seconds of the game played out. Trying to shoot glances in her direction as I watched the pivotal moment I did the best to answer her simple questions. What is your relation to the patient? Ummmm…his dad. When did it happen? 45…minutes…ago. How did it happen?…

YAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

The entire ER wing erupted as Suggs’ shot banked in. The noise from the other hospital rooms mixed with my spontaneous yelp of excitement. A stair, he fell from the stairs! I said with way too much enthusiasm. I am so sorry. The employee told me not to worry and that she was following the game too.

Just a moment later the doctor came in. Things got serious again. He took one look at the wound and remarked that it was rather severe and that multiple stitches would be needed. He also said that he couldn’t rule out scarring. He said to hang tight and left the room.

We waited a few minutes and then the ER nurses came in followed by the doctor. We put Beau down on a device that basically restrained him and the doctor and his team went to work.

He worked fast but also meticulously to stitch up the wound. He gave all the nurses body parts to control while he took care of the lip. Sid stood bedside with Beau while I looked over Sid’s shoulder. After the doctor completed two of the stitches he gave Beau a quick break before beginning again.

It was during this break that Sid looked back at me. She told me that I looked as pale as a ghost. She told me to sit down in the chair in the corner (talk about a role reversal from just an hour earlier!). I replied that I was fine but by this time the doctor had taken notice of the situation. After making sure I was okay he ordered me to sit down in the chair. He then completed the rest of the procedure.

Beau was stitched up and ready to go home. One of the nurses brought me a cup of ice water and an orange juice and said “I highly recommend that you drink these.” The only other time in my life I remember feeling like I was going to faint was when Sid’s doctor shocked us by saying they were going to deliver Sloan three weeks early.

Beau resting peacefully as we drove home from the hospital.

But my low tolerance for something as minimal as four stitches is not the focal point of this post. Beau is dealing with his stiches like a champ and will get them out on Monday. Speaking of champs, I wish Gonzaga was one right now but Baylor kind of got in the way. I actually got to see the end of that one at home.

Beau will get his stitches out on Monday.

Thanks to the ER staff at Holy Family for taking care of Beau! It was by far the most efficient and professional emergency room we have ever experienced. Let’s also hope that it is the last. Don’t Blink.