- Did Valentines Day Feel Like Metal Prongs Being Pulled Out Of Your Body? Then Riley Can Relate.
I’ve waited a week to write about this experience, because I didn’t want to descend into hyperbole (well, more than I already do – zing! – beat you to it), but time enough has passed now that I can describe with a little bit of perspective the white-knuckled, panicked state I was last Thursday when the paediatric surgeon buzzed away Riley’s cast to remove the wires that had been inserted during his surgery and, upon seeing the wound said, “I’m very glad you are here today. These are infected.”
Fast forward two minutes or so, and imagine Riley’s howling and crying as said wires were being extracted. Tears dotted the tissue paper he was lying on. I stood at the end of the bed, stroking his leg, saying ‘nearly there nearly there nearly there’, listening to his cries, thinking this was worse than Hong Kong, surely. Finally, they were out. The Doctor rubbed Riley’s shoulder and said sympathetically, ‘That was no fun.’
Suddenly, the room began to spin. I felt hot.
‘I’m going to faint.’
Swiftly, Riley was evicted from his place (poor boy!) to be sat on a chair so I could lie down until I felt better. In the meantime, Riley’s protests had reached reception and the receptionist had poked her head through the door to see what was wrong.
Later, as we waited for the x-rays to come back, Riley said, ‘Mum, I don’t want to do this again.’
Me either, buddy.
Interestingly, this week during school photos, he insisted on keeping his arm (in its new cast) in plain sight, instead of being tucked away behind his back; posing like a man in one of those old-fashioned pictures – arm across the chest, thumb crooked through a buttonhole or jacket pocket; upstanding and proud.
In addition, he’s missing the two top teeth now.
Life, it’s happening.
