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| Pinky |
Wow! It's been two weeks of non-stop go, go, go! Not only did we finish out our school year and celebrate a birthday, but we tackled pink eye (back to back with both boys) and a head injury. While M was hit with 2 pink eyes, O had an issue at school that resulted in a head injury. These circumstances caused us to dub them "Pinky" and "The Brain." During a recent trip to our local library, the boys found the nicknames even more entertaining after spotting a dvd collection of the tv cartoon. Sadly, our "Brain" developed pink eye within a week of his younger brother and we couldn't determine if he was still considered
The Brain or another
Pinky.
We have found a little humor in the frustrating and scary moments of our past couple of weeks, but the initial impact we felt from the head injury was not in the least bit funny. In fact, it was terrifying and upsetting. When the truth of the matter came to light, we discovered it was not merely an accident. Our son was purposely hurt by another classmate. It's hard to believe that a child under the age of 10 would go out of their way to attack a peer (unprovoked). Yet, it happens.
Believe it or not, my sons aren't averaged sized kids for their age. With a pixie sized mom and a dad of average height, they don't exactly fall into the big & tall category. This fact alone makes it easier to become a bully target. My oldest son has had a tough time when he is sometimes teased for being vertically challenged. I have had 32 years to
own my shortness, but it's a whole different ballgame in elementary school... and even more so for a boy. Last year he had a fabulous principal, Mr. F., who helped him through some of the inevitable taunting. I'm grateful for the difference he made to my son. As rough as his small size can be, it wasn't even a factor in the recent incident.
Being everyone's buddy is important to my kind hearted eldest son. He generally treats everyone the way he would want to be treated. With exceptions being made at times for his younger brother. O enjoys playing sports, even if he's not a star athlete, with his friends. His determination often amazes me. When all of his buddies were playing football at school, he wanted to be a part of it. SuperDad tossed the Nerf ball around with him, as he insisted on improving. Eventually, he was catching some pretty good throws. Imagine his excitement when he managed to snag a ball in front of his friends. That's exactly what happened on the day of his not-so-accident take down.
The "friend" who had tossed the football came up to my son, full of excitement from the catch, and let him know that he hadn't intended for the ball to be caught by O. He insisted that the ball was meant for another child. Knowing my son well, I'm certain this hurt him immensely. Yet he didn't have to time react to the words before his legs were grabbed and he was flipped over, landing on his forehead. With no adults in viewing range, he tried his best to get up and shake off his embarrassment. Little did he realize that he'd be dealing with the physical effects approximately 45 minutes later. His teacher was informed that he had been hurt, but didn't know the entire circumstances at the time. O wasn't looking to get anyone into trouble.
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| The Brain |
When I picked my son up from school, I noticed he was acting a little unusual. As we walked out the doors, I asked if something had happened that day. That's when he grabbed his forehead, in tears, and told me he "got flipped" at recess. After our 5 minute drive home, he proceeded to run to the bathroom and throw up. A phone call was placed to our family doctor and I waited and watched my son until his dad came home a short time later. Before long, it was clear that we would be heading to the emergency room. The vomiting continued and my normally talkative and energetic son was struggling to stay awake and not responding in conversations that would normally have him full of excitement. My husband took on his former racing persona as we headed to the hospital. Our fears were well hidden as we continued to do everything possible to keep our O man awake. During this time, I posted to Facebook from my phone and placed some calm phone calls to grandparents. We were not without prayers during this time and for that we are truly grateful.
THANK YOU to all who were praying for us, especially O.
As our silent prayers continued, we went through the ER routine of checking in and waiting our turn to be seen. A CT scan was ordered and completed, and O was monitored for some time. His vomiting stopped (thankfully) sometime during the hospital visit. With the diagnosis of a mild concussion, we were cleared to head home. We left with instructions to return if the vomiting came back or other signs presented themselves. I took on the job of monitoring O through the sleepless night, by waking him every 2 hours and being certain he responded. The following day consisted of more watchfulness before allowing him to return to school the day after that. During this time is when I discovered the full story of what I assumed was a "got too rough" recess football injury.
I spoke with my son's teacher after finding out the rest of the story. She made sure that the incident was handled at school. No matter where you go, you'll always find bullies. Having people around that care enough to work toward dealing with and preventing future incidents is important.
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| The Brain's new gear for school. |
Realizing that not everyone is going to be a true friend is a difficult lesson. When you are kind to others, you don't always stop to think that someone else might not have the same intentions. While my son learned a valuable lesson, it hasn't stop him from being a friend. As a mom, I want him to be more guarded, but also wish he didn't have to be.
How do you help your child through situations such as bullying? Have you found any ways to help your child avoid bullies? Has your child ever been bullied or been a bully? What do you feel we can do, as adults, to make a difference?
**FRIDAY: Watch for a "Stampin' Out The Work Week" post all about teacher gifts!**
