Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny summer day at my brother-in-law’s new cottage. The setting was idyllic, and the kids were laughing on the dock, splashing in the water, while the parents were enjoying view (and some adult conversation) from the deck. All of a sudden my eldest son let out a scream “Mommy…I hurt my foot.” I should have known that he is not prone to histrionics, and would certainly not cry in front of his older cousins unless he was really hurt, but I was feeling relaxed, and simply asked my husband to look at his foot. The look on his face after he examined the cut made me realize that this was not just a stubbed toe.
My seven-year old son had been climbing down a rock to get to the dock and landed the wrong way on a big piece of quartz. Two toes got serious scratches, and his big toe was cut quite deeply at the base (at the risk of sounding graphic, my husband described it the toe as “dangling” from his foot). It was obvious he’d need stitches, but it was (of course!!) the long weekend (the busiest time in the ER) and we were a 45-minute drive from the nearest hospital.
Luckily for us, my sister-in-law was up. Earlier that day I’d seen her first aid kit and chuckled to myself at its size (a medium-sized Rubbermaid container filled to the brim). As she set to work cleaning the toe, taping it first in steri-strips and then in gauze, administering Tylenol, and instructing me to keep the toe held above Liam’s heart and immobile for the drive, I was very relieved that she (and her overstuffed kit) were there. My own first aid bag was stuffed too…with Ovol drops, baby orajel, various superhero bandaids and a bunch of almost empty bottles of Tempra.
Driving back from the hospital two hours later I remarked to my husband on how fortunate we were to have just made our first trip to the ER in over seven years of parenting. I’ve also vowed to update the first aid kit so that I’m better prepared for (the inevitable) next time.
Jennifer is an urbanmoms.ca member and mother to I year old Rylan, 5 year old Connor, and 7 year old Liam pictured above. If you would like to contribute a story, please send it to email@urbanmoms.ca. We’d love to hear from you!
Thanks for the important reminder.
Our cottage is just 3 season so we have to remove all liquids over the winter.
Sometimes I forget to restock till something happens and I need one of the fluid items!
Also a heads up…
Hydrogen peroxide has a short self life. Once it is opened it begins turning itself into plain old water! So a fresh bottle every 6 months is a good idea.
These incidents always remind me of all of the things I should be better prepared for! I’m going to fill my emergency kit ASAP!
Have you heard of Kits for Kids? (http://www.kitsforkids.ca) They sell all different sizes/configurations of first aid kits geared towards children & families. I’ve got the stroller size, which doesn’t have major emergency stuff, but has definitely come in handy. They also teach first aid & CPR classes.