4:53 p.m. - 2007-08-04
socks and blood
Yesterday was quite a day.
I had arranged for the kids to go to a roller rink for the afternoon. When I arrived that morning at work I realized that some of the kids were wearing sandals which means they were not wearing socks. I called the roller rink and asked if they had to have socks on and was told yes, they would not be allowed to rent sktes without socks.
Amid kids running up to me yelling "I don't have socks!!!!!" and "Ms. Jessi, are you going to skate???" and nearly exiting their skin with excitement, I count the sockless children.
I told the staff I'd meet them there and went to Target to buy socks. I grabbed up a couple of things I needed while I was there, which turned out to be my big mistake, checked out, hastily grabbed the bag, got back to the car and headed for the roller rink. Unfortunately the bridge on the small, winding woodsy road I was on was closed. I, having no other choice, turned around and followed detour signs but then I got lost. Very very very lost and was really anxious about it because I knew that 12 sockless kids were there waiting for me.
Finally while asking for and receiving vague, non-helpful directions ("ya know where the big barn is on 19?" no....) at a gas station, a woman had mercy on me and offered to drive there and let me follow her. People in Southwestern PA are consistently nice in these situations!
I followed her, we arrived. I got out and thanked her. I reached back into the car for the bag and discovered...the lady at the store didn't put the socks in the bag. And I didn't notice, obviously.
(insert 37 explitives.)
I look longingly at the door, knowing the kids are waiting and that I simply cannot arrive sans socks, get back in the car, drive back to Target, miraculously not getting lost, retrieved the socks and headed back. Finally, 40 minutes late, I entered the crowded, chaotic roller rink. I give Paul, my assistant, the socks and sigh with relief. The kids still have a couple hours of skating time and they have managed to amuse themselves with video games up until now.
"Ms. Jessi! Ms. Jessi! Taylor got hurt really bad!" I turn around to see a little girl in my program being pulled toward me wide eyed with her arm covered in blood.
Apparently she was skating and put her hands out to stop herself on the wall, but there was a jagged, metal electrical outlet where she happened to put her hand and she ripped open the web part of her hand between her thumb and pointer finger. It was bad.
On top of being scared and in a lot of pain, Taylor was wearing roller skates. I had to basically tug and pull her over to this sink. I go to wash her hand in cold water so we can see the wound and this guy who manages the place comes over with the first aid kit. He was shaking and looked at her hand and goes "Oh my god, oh my god, how did this happen! Oh no!" I tend to be very calm in these situations and was talking to Taylor in a very soothing voice. I gave him the look of death and squatted down and said "Taylor. I am going to take care of you and you are going to be fine. We just need to look at it and see if we need to take you to the doctor. I need you to be a little bit brave while I wash this off. OK?" To her credit she calmed down and nodded.
I put on some gloves from the kit and put her hand under the spigot. For some unholy reason, that sink didn't have any cold water. I turned on the cold and nothing came out, so I was about to move her down to the next sink, and at the same time, the manager guy reaches over and turns on the HOT water, burning Taylor on her already injured hand. Taylor screams and starts crying. I almost LOST IT but i knew I had to keep very calm. I looked at him and said "Sir I appreciate your help but I can definitely take it from here. Could you please find one of my staff members - they are wearing green t-shirts." He goes off to find them as i wash off her hand.
The injury is bad. She sliced right through that web of skin. I tell her we are going on a little adventure to the hospital so a doctor can check it out.
I take the guaze and wrap it up, pull her over to a bench, sit her down, take off her skates, send one of the staff to find her shoes, call her mom, explain the situation and arrange to meet her mom or grandma at the hospital near our youth center, 30 minutes away. Since a bus had brought the kids to the rink and wasn't due back for hours, it is a really good thing I had driven because otherwise we wouldn't have had a way to get her there besides an ambulance, which would not have been a good option - they would have wanted to take her to a closer hospital, etc.
So we drove back to Pittsburgh and rocked out to Gwen Stefani. Taylor was in good spirits and handled the whole thing like a real trooper. Her grandma met us at the hospital and I left her in grandma's capable hands.
Then I went to Sandcastle for some much needed relaxation time.
I had already planned to leave work early that day (I had never planned on going on the field trip and only did so because of the sock situation.) So I headed over to meet Haley and was a few minutes early. I recounted the story and she looked at me in amazement and said "You are the only person in the world who has to make an unexpected trip to the emergency room and ends up being early!"
