Days , Life , DreamsMy life , family , work , and everything inbetween . All posts tagged accidents Scarlett 's Accident ( This is a backlog post . It should have gone up June 3 . ) With Logan , it was his premature birth and 10 day hospitalization . With Lila it was the time she drank turpentine at 2 years , 1 month old . Scarlett had yet to do something to freak me out severely ( other than running off in a bookstore and hiding when she was 18 months old ) , but that changed last week . Logan was already fussing when we got to the mall because we were only doing grocery shopping , and he wanted to go to the arcade and toy shop . He has no patience for shopping so he was running around , touching everything - every display , every shelf , every food item . He broke candy bars , crushed bags of chips and grabbed everything he could . Normally he is fairly obedient and can manage a trip to the store without too much wildness , but this day his hyperactive nature had taken over and it was all I could do to not yell at him right there . ( He has ADHD . ) He continued to be wild during lunch and rest time , and on into the afternoon . He was mean to the girls and kept making them cry . Any sort of punishment didn 't faze him at all . I finally decided to take the kids to the playground near our house , hoping that some outdoor play could burn some of his energy and tire him out . Yet he continued to be wild . Several times I had to pull him aside from his play as he was biting and pinching the other children . He even bit his own lip when he fell as he was racing up the slide . The whole time I was keeping half an eye on the girls as they climbed the jungle gym . They are both quite good at it , so , while I stay near them , I don 't have to be right there . At one point I had to go to Logan again , and I didn 't see Scarlett follow me , nor did I see her climb the straight metal slide ( not the ladder but the slide ) until she was at the top . It was almost like seeing something in slow motion . I saw her at the top of the slide . I saw her begin to turn , and then I knew she was going to fall . I was too far away to get there in time to catch her . I left Logan and forgot his naughtiness as I ran to my baby . The slide was about 6 feet at the highest point and she fell from the top , landing in the sand flat on her chest and tummy , hitting her lips hard on one side . Horror stories that I had heard of kids dying from falling off a slide filled my mind , and I struggled to push them away so I could focus on Scarlett . At first she cried while I carried her to a bench and tried to clean the sand off her face , but then she was quiet , scarily quiet . She just sat on my lap and looked at everything . I kept asking her questions but she wouldn 't answer . I managed to round up Logan and Lila , and we rushed home . All I could think of was getting her home , putting ice on her ever - swelling lips , and helping her recover from the shock she was in . She wouldn 't let me put ice on her lip , nor did she want me to get the sand out of her mouth , both of which made her cry . I was afraid she had some internal injury since she was so quiet . I called Glad , who was working on the other side of town , and told him what had happened . He asked some questions and then reassured me that she was probably fine but to keep an eye on her . I held her close and told her how sorry I was that I hadn 't been close enough to catch her . I couldn 't do anything but rock her . After about 30 minutes ( from the time she fell ) she began to move around . I put a video on for her and then went to my room to cry . The guilt I felt was massive . How had I not noticed her following me ? Why wasn 't I paying more attention ? Why hadn 't I been right there to catch her ? It was awful . Finally I realized I had some hungry kids on my hands so I forced myself to get up and cook dinner , even though I wasn 't very hungry and could hardly stand to look at food . Surprisingly , Scarlett ate a good dinner ! I thought she might just have some yogurt because she could hardly open her mouth , but she figured a way to slip the food in on the side that wasn 't sore . ( Fried chicken liver , French fries , and cucumber slices . ) Afterwards she was perky and climbing around , even jumping ! She was fine as I showered everyone and got them ready for bed . I let her lie in my bed and she went to sleep quickly . I kept her in bed with me all night . At one point she scared me by waking up and just sitting there and staring straight ahead . After what seemed like forever , she told me she wanted water and to get up , but it was only about 4 in the morning so I convinced her to go back to sleep . In the morning her lip looked scary . The top one on the right side was big and puffy , the bottom about half the size . Above , below , and on her lips were all the tiny scratches that had scabbed overnight . Scarlett herself was perky as ever , ate a good breakfast , had a normal bowel movement , and showed every sign of being ok internally . But just to be safe , Glad took her to the hospital for a checkup . I didn 't feel relief until they got home . The doctor had confirmed that she had no internal injury , and her lip was going to be just fine . The swelling went down rapidly over the next two days , so fast , in fact , that we could see a difference from one hour to the next . Now , exactly one week later , all the scabs are gone and there is no evidence that she had such a bad fall . Since that day I 've made sure to stay right next to her at the park whenever she is climbing . She is daring , like Lila , and will climb on most anything , so I can 't let her out of my sight . She may be a good climber , but she is still a toddler and doesn 't have as good balance as Lila does . I shudder every time I think back on that moment when she fell . I 'm thankful she fell from the 6 ' slide and not the higher spiral one that she so loves . I 'm thankful I wasn 't far when she fell , so I could pick her up right away . I 'm thankful she wasn 't seriously injured . And I 'm most thankful she is still here . On December 5 , 2005 , I was in a car accident that left me with a fractured arm ( in 5 places ) , a gash on my right cheek , a sprained ankle , and on crutches for the whole season . There were 7 of us in the car but only 2 got hurt , and I was least hurt . The boy in the seat in front of me was knocked unconscious , had severe head injuries , and to this day has no recollection of the accident . The others made it out without injury . We were returning to Bangalore after a trip to Goa . Part of the road in Goa winds through the mountains and you can 't see around the curves . We were in a brand new Toyota Innova and got hit on the drivers ' side ( that is the right here in India ) . What happened was , a truck , one of those huge shipping trucks that are common here , was parked on the road . There was no side to the road so the driver had left it parked on the road where the oncoming traffic was . Things like this are common , so no one would think much of it . Another similar truck was coming from the other direction and we couldn 't see it . Our driver swerved in time to avoid a head - on collision , but the truck ripped through the car from the passenger door behind the driver all the way out the back . The boy who got hurt was sitting in front of me and had fallen asleep with his head on the window . That is why he got hit so hard . He was also not wearing a seat belt , so was thrown to the side when we got hit . I was awake and wearing a seat belt , but somehow the force of the impact caused me to get hurt . As soon as the truck hit us , our car spun around 360 degrees for a whole spin ( maybe two ) . The roof rack with all our luggage was ripped off and bags went everywhere . Windows were blown out . My glasses went flying . A necklace I was wearing broke off and I never found it again . Next to the boy who got hurt were two younger children . Of course seeing him get knocked out and his head bleeding freaked them out and they were both screaming . Once the car stopped , the driver got out to assess the damage . The children 's mother got them out and brushed shards of glass off of them , while the girl who had been lying down and sleeping next to me ( and didn 't get hurt at all ) climbed over the seat to check on the boy . After rounding up the luggage and finding out where the local hospital was , we slowly drove off . I picked up my glasses , but since the glass was out of them , they were useless to me . I left them on the seat as we arrived at the tiny local clinic . People surrounded the car right away , mostly of curiosity , as is so common during an accident here . Then the doctor arrived along with a few other people . The right side of the car was so dented that the roof was pushed onto the seat and the door could not open , so they pulled the boy out from the other side and onto a stretcher . Then it was my turn . The only way out of the back was to climb over the seat in front . At that time , I knew I was injured but I didn 't know how badly . Moving was painful , but I had to get myself out . I slowly stepped out , and someone , trying to help me into the wheelchair , put their hand on my right shoulder and I screamed from the pain . I was wheeled into a small room to await treatment . While the others took care of the many details that come with an accident and injuries , I was in a small room with several doctors and assistants . I should mention that this hospital was so " local " that everyone was barefooted and the floor was cement . Once person washed the glass from my eyes and face , and stitched up the gash in my cheek . Then came the x - rays . They tried to get me to stand up for a full - body x - ray , but I couldn 't stand without feeling faint , so they got as many as they could while I was lying down . I told them where I was hurting and they x - rayed that part . But I had to stand for them to x - ray my shoulder and I nearly did faint . Once that was done , I was moved to another room . Meanwhile they were trying to figure out how to help the unconscious boy . This clinic was so small that they didn 't have any of what he desperately needed , and it was so out of the way that they had to send back to Goa for an ambulance , which only arrived a few hours later . After a while , the boy was moved into the room I was in , followed by a senior doctor and a group of nursing students . They stood around while the doctor shaved the boy 's head and stitched the large gash that he had . They also cut his clothes off so they could check the rest of his body for injuries . Once the ambulance arrived , we were moved into it , and everyone else got in too . We were heading back to Goa , to take the boy to a better - equipped hospital . His parents were called and they were able to meet us there . I stayed in Goa for about a week , slowly recovering at the home of some people I didn 't know , while the boy was in critical condition in the hospital . Soon I was able to get a flight back to Bangalore and rest at home , but I spent the whole Christmas season hobbling on a crutch . My left foot was sprained , as was my right shoulder , and my right arm and hand were in a cast . At least I was still able to get around . But it was a rather painful Christmas . Here I am all bashed up . My fingers and foot turned all shades of purple before they healed . The little girl is Sakshi . I was her nanny for 3 years . This was taken after I got home , not more than 2 weeks after the accident . After a short time , I found that my arm was swelling under the cast , so I went to a doctor and he cut the cast , then later had me come for a new one . The new one was one of those molded ones that is soft when they wrap it but then hardens . I had to wear the cast for 9 weeks because some of the smallest bones in my hand were fractured . They take longer to heal because there is less blood flow to them than to other bones . It took me years to get over the fear of traveling on the highway here . Even now I am uncomfortable on the highway . I never ride in the front seat while on the highway , only the back . And in case you are wondering , this boy , who was 15 at the time , made a full recovery . Only a few months after he was released from the hospital in Bangalore ( where he was moved to since that was where his parents were living ) , he went back to the hospital in Goa , where the doctors had been convinced he wasn 't going to make it , and sang for them . ( He is a singer and musician . ) The nurses cried , so happy to see someone they had fought for make it . Spring Cleaning Have you ever walked into your room and realized that it was long overdue for a thorough cleaning ? I had that revelation today . It seemed that while I was in the hospital , all the local spiders had decided to move in . There were cobwebs in not only every corner of the room but also along the walls in between . My desk had long since ceased being a desk . It was now a graveyard of forgotten items covered in dust . I didn 't even have space to put the laptop down so I could use it . Yes , I know you are going to yell at me for working , but what would you have done ? I went slow and only did what I could . First I opened all the windows to let out the stale air - con air ( yes , we have an air - con now and sleep so much better for it ) that had been permeating the room all week since it was installed . I realized the screens were dirty so I hosed them down and hung them to dry . Then I dusted every surface in sight , beginning with the window frames which were beyond dirty , then the doors , the lamp , and even the clock . The desk took some time to find under the many piles of who - knows - what that was on it . I finally got down to the surface and cleaned it well . When it came time to replace the stuff that belongs there , I made Glad show me all the stuff that was there that could be thrown away since most of it was papers of his that had been there for at least 2 months and not moved . ( I 'm serious about the state of the desk . This is no joke . ) I was able to throw most of it away . Wow . I now had space for the laptop with room to spare . And with the dust and cobwebs gone and the fresh air coming it , we could all breathe easy again . Once I could see the surface of my bed again , I made the bed and put the laundry away . I didn 't bother with the tough stuff like cleaning the fan since I can 't reach it anyway . Glad will have to do that one . ( By the way , if you don 't want anyone to know your fan is dirty , just leave it on all the time . ) And I left the floors since I can 't bend over and I left the toys for the same reason . The only other thing I did was clean the bathroom , not a difficult job once everything is removed . I just use the toilet spray hose and hose it down , wipe everything with disinfectant , use a little laundry soap on the ceramics , hose it all again and let it dry before returning everything to its place . Okay , I see a question from those of you who have never lived in India . What is a toilet spray hose ? Well , it 's like a mini hose with a tiny nozzle that you use to spray your butt after using the toilet . It 's a step up from the bucket of water under a tap that is next to the toilet that you use with what looks like a small measuring cup to pour the water to wash yourself . But it has a strong spray so it 's good for cleaning the bathroom and the floor and even your feet when they are dirty . Since a picture is worth a thousand words , here it is . Notice the tap at the bottom of the hose . And if you are wondering where the toilet paper is , it 's right above the hose . But not every bathroom here has that . Most places won 't have toilet paper , so if that is your preference , you 'd better carry some with you when you go out . On another note , Logan had an accident today . I 'm not sure how he did it as he was on the floor playing , but he fell forward and drove both his front teeth into his lower lip . It must have been painful as he screamed and cried so much , and it was bleeding profusely . We rinsed it with water and I held an ice cube to it to numb it . Even then , it took a few minutes before the bleeding stopped . But with some cuddles and a chance to lick the ice cube , Logan was back to his happy self in a few minutes and went back to play . He isn 't one of those kids who drags out the agony of an injury and cries long after the pain is over . Sometimes I am more worried about the injury than he is . He gets over it quickly . Just before bed , daddy was having some playtime with Logan , and he decided to do some push - ups , just to see how many he could do as he hasn 't had much chance for exercise lately . But every time he would start , Logan would crawl up on his legs and attack him . Finally he put Logan in the crib and Logan just stood there and laughed so hard at each one that Glad could only do about 5 before he would fall to the floor laughing . He never did get past 5 reps , because Logan was laughing so hard that it was impossible not to laugh . I had to look the other way as when I laugh it hurts my scar , but I couldn 't help it . It was too cute . Sixteen Months Old Yes , he is now sixteen months old , and acting more and more like a toddler than a baby . He is also getting more injuries now that he is walking more , especially on his head . Many times I will find a scratch , cut , or bruise and won 't know how he got it , but lately he has been getting a lot of bumps on his head , the kind that swell up into a big bump and leave a bruise for a while . Yesterday at the park he met a little girl his age who wanted to play with him . They were having fun until she went to give him a hug . They both fell , but Logan got the worst of it . He landed on his head and within seconds it got swollen . He cried so much . I wasn 't able to put ice on it right away since we were too far from home to leave immediately , but I did put ice on it later when we got home and he wailed then . I think it really hurt to have it touched , because last week he hit his head on the other side and it almost got swollen but I had put ice on it immediately and it didn 't swell but did leave a bruise . That time he didn 't mind the ice , but this time he did . Anyway , the swelling went away in a few hours and by morning there was nothing but a scratch and bruise . Look closely at the picture below and you can see the bump . This was about 5 minutes later . Poor little guy . I guess injuries are a part of life for little boys . Most of his falls are due to his not walking so well yet . It is cute to watch him walk ; he holds his arms up in the air and does a sort of march .