Vanessa's head smash

Poor kiddo, she took one for the team tonight.  Violet and Vanessa were playing horsie with the jump rope (it was their reigns) and Vanessa was the horsie in front.  She was running and fell (Violet said she stepped on the rope somehow) and her head smacked into the corner of the square post that supports the counter tops in the kitchen.  I was cooking something on the stove at the time and sort of saw what happened in my peripheral vision, but not exactly.  All I knew is she was screaming and I saw blood, so I immediately picked her up and wiped off her head, only to expose a very deep wound that made me shudder.  I knew the second I saw it that it would require stitches, so after Dave figured out what happened, he rushed the kids into the van ASAP.  Urgent care took one look at it and said head to the ER, so we did.  We had to take some detours to get around trains on route to Allen.  Vanessa had calmed down and was doing quite well.  We kept a cloth on it with pressure trying to hold it together - and the bleeding had stopped completely with in 15 minutes.  Since nobody had eaten supper, Dave got Vanessa checked in and the nurses put numbing stuff on her skin so the lidocaine injections wouldn't hurt as bad.  I drove thru McDonalds and got us some food, then we went back to the ER and saw Vanessa for a bit.  She was her cheerful self, and was excited to see all of us.  But of course...a tiny hospital room + 4 kids = stress ... so I kissed Vanessa goodbye so Dave could be with her, and I took the other 3 home to get them to bed.  Violet was struggling handling her emotions.  She was in tears on the way to the hospital, curious when we got there, and admitted to being the accidental cause of the accident on the way home by saying she stepped on the rope.  We know it wasn't intentional, but I knew she felt responsible.  One the way home I called a few family members, and our neighbors, Deb Beving and her daughter Haley, and they put the kids to bed for me while I went back to get Dave and Vanessa.  I changed into a non-bloody shirt.  Violet and Calvin brushed their own teeth and Deb read them some books, Haley held Eli.  Dave called as I was leaving saying she was all done being stitched up and it looked really good.  7 stitches later, she had a big gauze thing taped to her forehead, and she was super cheerful, very excited, almost shaking, and Dave had promised her ice cream.  We went to McDonalds and got her an ice cream and a cheeseburger.  She was acting so crazy...throwing her arms around, giggling and shaking her head.  She ate about 1/2 of it, and we went home.  V and C were sleeping, Eli was awake but happy.  Vanessa continued to run around the house for another hour...she was SO awake, she played with her little pink chair w/ the cup holder, "Mr. Bear" from the hospital, and wanted a sippy cup of milk.  Dave laid down with her on the couch and iced her forehead, she seemed to calm down a little and eventually went to sleep after we changed her dressing with a clean one and more tape so it would deter her from peeling it off.  The doc said the stitches need to come out in 4-5 days.  This is an abbreviated version of the story...however...its super late and I'm tired.

I'm thankful Dave was home when it happened (he had been on a trip to Albia to get stuff from my grandma all day), he acted quickly and calmly, and tended to Vanessa expertly.  She got good medical care, and we can expect good healing.  Thank you Lord for caring for us in all situations (even the boring ones and the frazzling ones)!