Schoolyard Accident - Take Two

Well, it's spring so time for another installment of phone-call-from-school-because-Kennedy's-hurt-on-the-playground. Except, this time, it's much worse than last year's broken arm incident.

This past Wednesday morning about 11am, I had just picked my father up after his surgery at the hospital to take him home. We were on the way to his house when my cell rang - it was the school. Kennedy had an accident outside and her hearing aid got knocked off; they were still trying to locate it. I thought to myself, "Well they better find it, the darn thing costs thousands of dollars." They said she was fine but asked if I could come over. I asked Dad if he was up to it and he was, so we turned around and headed back to K's school.

When I got there, they reported they had found her aid, which had landed inside her coat. I was relieved for an instant, until I pulled up her hair that covered the area where her implant goes. The titanium screw that is affixed to her skull to hold her hearing aid implant on was driven back out of its normal place and dislodged halfway from her skull. It was a bloody mess. I had to sit down, not from the blood, but from the immediate sinking sensation that I knew she was going to have to have surgery to fix this. I'm just so glad she was in good spirits (thank goodness for high pain thresholds). She asked if she could put her BAHA back on and I signed/said, "No, we need to call the doctor first to see if it's okay." Then, the floodgates opened, "I DON'T WANT ANOTHER SURGERY MAMA!" she gasped in between sobs. My heart was breaking for her. I don't blame her a bit; after 19 surgeries, she deserves the right to be upset at the prospect of another.

We did eventually get her calmed down, got home, cleaned the area well and called the surgeon in Toronto who'd implanted her BAHA back in '06. He called back and said to keep it covered and the earliest we could get in was May 4th for the O.R. We also have to put her on an antibiotic for ten days because of the risk of infection and keep it covered, especially at school. We dug out her old softband (headband that the BAHA can snap onto, usually worn prior to BAHA implant surgery). Her BAHA started 'buzzing', however, so we had to send it away and wait for a loaner to arrive. So no hearing at all for the weekend until the loaner arrives on Monday.

Now, Graeme and I are planning on an unexpected trip to Toronto on May 3-6 now for surgery to have it fixed and the area on her head closed. For those of you who don't know the geography - Toronto is 18 hours away from us, so we need to fly, etc. It's very stressful figuring all of this out, with it being an unexpected trip to Toronto and worrying about infection between now and then, etc. I know I am biased but I would not think it was good judgment to have three other kids spinning her on a swing (doing a 'twisty') with about 200 kids running around. Someone's foot came up and hit her in the head (obviously pretty hard to dislodge a titanium screw/abutment from its place that's been there for 3 years). I know accidents can happen but I think sometimes Kennedy is overestimated in terms of safety and she shouldn't be; between last year's broken arm and now this much more serious injury, I think it's time to go in for a little chat about safety, etc with the school. Just one more thing to do.

Anyway, we are plugging along and Kennedy is doing very well, she is much less worried than we are...