Christmas Day 2015 -- A Day to Forget but will always remember cuz it's the day I put my daughter in the Emergency Room.
(Pardon for the swearing and expletives)
It started out as a great day. The kids woke up early (as expected) to open their presents, which they loved.
Then I headed out to SF to have brunch with dad. Siu Wah is running a fever so Joyce stayed home with him. I head out with Nui-nui only and we luckily found a Round Table that was open on Christmas Day. Dad loves pizza and Nui-nui hates dim sum, so it worked out perfectly. And with the cousins giving me the cold shoulder to having Christmas lunch, we had an absolute glorious time!!
I had a wonderful pizza brunch with dad.... And here's where things get dramatic.... to where I call events, "this moment in time"
This moment in time... after lunch, we were suppose to visit Mother in Law (MIL). But MIL turns out to be in Millbrae having dim sum. Change of plans.
This moment in time... after visiting MIL, we were suppose to go visit mom, for her Birthday and Christmas. I even brought some board games to kill time. But of all days, she doesn't bring her phone and doesn't check her iPad for weChat. Had she picked up... None of this would've happened.
This moment in time... I call Deddy, hoping to visit Howard to drop off his present and kill some time before mom calls back. He doesn't pick up. Had he picked up, None of this would've happened.
This moment in time... I'm at Starbucks with Nui-nui, killing time. I didn't know what else to do... so I stupidly ask, "Do you wanna go ice-skating?" To which she excitedly says, "YES!!!!" At the very same moment... Deddy calls back. Why didn't he call one second early?!?! Or I asked one second later....? I would've gone to visit him and skipped the whole ice skating thing. None of this would've happened.
This moment in time... we get to Union Square and find out we have to wait in line to skate the 2pm session. The lady announces the 2pm session is sold out. I could've walked out... but I didn't want to disappoint my baby... who really really wanted to skate. So I waited in line, hoping for a miracle. Had I walked away... and gone to the San Jose rink the day after, None of this would've happened.
This moment in time.... we get to the ticket booth. I kinda knew they were sold out... but Nui-nui was gonna be sooooooooooooooooooooooooo disappointed. So I asked anyways, "Do you have any 2pm sessions left." The lady at the booth said, "We have ONE." And then she gave me two tickets... and she even said, "Well princess, isn't this a magical Christmas." I was so happy that Nui-nui got to skate, I even tipped the girl $3 for a latte. But had she said, "Sorry, we're sold out." None of this would've happened.
We get our skates... we get on the ice. And of course... Nui-nui has a hard time. I hold on to her hand. But finally... she falls. She braces herself with her hand, where she's wearing gloves. But the ice was melting... so her glove got very wet. I decide to take her glove off....on her left hand. Had I kept it on...HER LEFT HAND... None of this would've happened. .
We keep on skating... and finally she falls. She braces herself with her hand. And here's where everything gets blurry.
She falls.... and I see her tiny little hand under my skate. I remove it and see blood gushing out. Nui-nui is screaming in pain. I pick up her hand and see a cut the size of grand canyon. SHIT!!! It's down to her bone. I cut my baby's thumb down to the bone!!!!
"Calm down." I say to myself. "You need to take control."
I start multi-tasking. I know I needed to stop the bleeding. So I searched for tissue in my pocket. All I can find was my glove. So I wrapped her thumb and applied pressure. I needed help. I needed to get off the ice.
"GET ME 9-1-1!!!" I screamed. The was to the bone. I didn't know if the bleeding will stop. I didn't care, "I NEED 9-1-1."
One of the workers there saw me. He walked me to the office and sat me down. He quickly called his manager. The manager, Janet, quickly put on gloves. But she wasn't trained. She didn't know what to do.
Nui-nui was hysterical at this point. Bleeding. Pain. She was screaming!!! I didn't know what to do. I took my gloves... threw it on the floor... and found some napkins in my pocket. I wrapped it around the wound and told Nui nui "Keep it above her you heart."
"GET ME 9-1-1!!!!"
I didn't know what was going on. All I cared about was getting Nui-nui to a hospital with a doctor!!!
I needed to call Joyce. I need to get her insurance information. FUCK!!! She doesn't pick up!!
I need a ride. If I'm to ride an ambulance... I won't have car. So I call my mother in law.
I text Joyce and call her again. She finally picks up. Paramedics haven't shown up yet!! I tell her the situation. (Stay calm) I tell her everything, tell her to text me the insurance info. Tell her to call Mah-mee. Nui-nui is still crying.
The manager of the ice rink is calling 9-1-1. And I hear her... answering a bunch of stupid questions. Time was ticking. I couldn't wait. "SEND A FUCKEN AMBULANCE!!!!" I screamed!!! The whole world stopped. Dad was mad.... and 9-1-1 wasn't coming yet. The manager was scared. She didn't know how to handle the situation.
We waited
"Why the heck was the ambulance taking so long?!?!?!??"
We waited some more
I give Nui-nui my phone alas... and she instinctively finds a game to play. At that very moment.... I knew things would be alright. She was cognitive enough to play with my iPhone. That means she's alright.
Finally...after waiting for eternity.... the fire department finally came. They checked her out and because the bleeding stopped... they cancelled the ambulance.
"Uncle Bernie" from the SFFD made everything better. Nui-nui wasn't in pain. The bleeding stopped. And we didn't have to pay for an ambulance ride. I can see in their eyes that the firefighters were a little annoyed - being called out for what turned out to be a "little cut." But man... at that moment, I didn't know we could stop the bleeding so easily.
After being dismissed by the firefighters... I carried NN back to our car and headed to St. Francis emergency room for her to get some stitches.
The nurses there were great. The doctor (or Practitioner Assistant) was amazing. And Nui-nui was totally engulfed in playing with my iPhone.
Slowly one by one... the grandparents showed up. And surprisingly, mom showed up with dad. A Christmas miracle. I told mom not to come. Of course, she shows up, she's mom. Was surprised dad was with her but that made complete sense. When it comes to grandchildren, all differences can be set aside. The only grandparent that was missing was Joyce's dad. Which was a bit disappointing - but he was in constant contact with me the entire time.
5 stitches. My baby girl spent Christmas in a hospital and got 5 stitches. Not sure how long this will haunt me. The sense of guilt is overbearing. The terror and horror of hurting her. Everyone and anyone is doing a great job of comforting me and reassuring me. But the true healing will need to come from Jesus -- the true meaning of Christmas. With that... let's hope the next several days go quietly so we can put a stamp on 2015. And guess what... now I know what to put as my 2015 top 10.
Christmas Day 2015 -- A Day to Forget but will always Remember.
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