On Sunday afternoon Jonas was playing with the neighbors while I quickly fixed him some dinner. I mean really quick, like instant noodles. I heard him screaming but I thought they were happy screams. Finally someone brought him to the house and I could tell something was wrong because they looked scared. He had been riding on the back of a bicycle and his foot had become caught in the spokes of the wheel. His heel was bloody and bruised and swollen and he was crying a terrible cry. I felt like I might throw up just seeing him in pain, not to mention that I am squeemish anyway.
We quickly called a friend to lend us their car so that we could drive to the hospital in Thailand, about 2 1/2 hours away. I quickly packed some clothes not knowing how long we would need to stay at the hospital. I imagined his foot was broken and I envisioned months of physical therapy in our future.
We drove as quickly as possible over bumpy dirt roads, dodging people on motorbikes and bicycles, large cargo trucks full of Beer Lao, dogs, and cows.
Jonas whined and wimpered as I tried to distract him with a book, or his LeapFrog Little Touch Leappad, or water, or the noodles I made for his dinner. When we arrived at the boarder crossing, Nick sprinted from the car to the various windows where the exit stamp, entry stamp, and vehicle pass stamps are obtained, then he did it again on the "Thai side" of the boarder so that we could enter the country.
He put on the flashers and we drove 120 km/hour on nice paved roads through Nong Khai and into Udon Thani, finally arriving at Aek Udon International Hospital Emergency room. Jonas had fallen asleep somewhere in the journey but awoke when I took him in my arms and stepped out of the car. We were the only patients in the Emergency room other than a man with a bandaid on his toe. Jonas was nervous, sensing more pain ahead, but did play a little "peek-a-boo" (or "jah-ay" in Thai) with the staff using the privacy curtain. He was very calm during the x-ray which thankfully revealed that no bones were broken, but his ankle was sprained. They cleaned the wound which he didn't like (I think it stung) and wrapped his foot in a white bandage. We all exclaimed repeatedly what a nice "gup nyam" (beautiful shoe) he had, so he was a bit proud of the bandage. Now we just have to change the dressing every day for five days and don't get it wet before then.
We didn't have to stay in the hospital but spent the night in a hotel since it was 7:30pm already and we were too tired to drive all the way back. We went to a pizza place (kind of like Pizza Hut but called "Pizza Company") for dinner and Jonas fell out of the booth. He calmed down from that but then started screaming alot just for fun so I took him back to the hotel room and left Nick alone to eat. While in the hotel room, Jonas slammed his finger in the TV cabinet.
Today he almost burned his finger on a hot motorbike muffler and was also narrowly missed by a giant falling palm tree "branch". It was close enough for him to be scared and start crying.
I think something is out to get him.

Being a mother is emotionally exhausting.

Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2006 at 10:54 PM