Oh! My Gash!

Last Sunday (7 August 2011) started out pretty normal. We had lunch at Ultimaxx Cafe at Queensbay with some close friends and later went into the mall for the kids to have some fun at a small kids' play area with kiddie rides at the North Wing. This was when things started to go horribly wrong.

The play area has a perimeter fence. Julian had this idea of running out of the play area, around part of the fence, and back into the play area again via another entrance. He did this a few times and since he was within sight, we just let him be.

Then, as he was running back in, he slipped and bumped his head against the base of the carousel. We heard a loud thud. As we got to him, he started wailing. To our horror, he had a nasty gash on his forehead above his left eye. It was bleeding profusely. We panicked. We grabbed Justin and Julian and "ran for our lives". It was about 1.45pm. Angie carried Justin while I carried Julian... putting a hand over the wound. His face and shirt were covered with blood. It must have been quite a sight. We managed to get some ice and wet wipes to help ease the bleeding before heading for the hospital. As we drove, we all managed to calm down, including Julian.

We headed for Pantai Mutiara Hospital, being the nearest. By the time we arrived, the bleeding had stopped. At the A&E, they managed to get his face and wound cleaned. The A&E doctor indicated that the wound would need to be stitched by the surgeon. For kids, who are unlikely to cooperate, this would be done under general anaesthesia (GA). Julian would also have to stay the night for observation. The cost would also run into four figures. After some consideration, we decided that we'd take Julian to the Penang General Hospital for treatment. So, after dropping Justin off at the baby sitter's, off we went. It was about 3.10pm.


[Julian's gash, photo hastily taken]


[Another blur photo, not a pretty sight]

It wasn't until about 4.30pm before Julian was seen by the doctor. The doctor assessed the wound to be "2x1", roughly 2cm across and 1cm deep. The doctor then ordered X-rays to be taken to rule out any fractures or the presence of any foreign body. Fortunately, the X-rays came back alright and they could proceed to stitch the wound up.

Julian was first given some syrup paracetamol and an oral sedative. The medical assistant (MA) then tried to inject some local anaesthetic (LA) around the wound. Success was limited as Julian was struggling and wailing even after being restraint by the doctor and Mummy and Daddy. So, after consulting another doctor, it was decided that they had to put Julian under heavy sedation (not sure if this was GA). For this, they inserted a Vasofix catheter into his hand, during which he also struggled and wailed. After the GA was administered (we told Julian that his hand was drinking medicine), he was very drowsy but refused to go to sleep! He still had to be restraint. When more LA was injected, he struggled and wailed even when he could hardly keep his eyes open. As the MA put the five stitches, we tried our best to comfort Julian, promising ice-creams, Slurpees, and trips to see airplanes.

Julian's ordeal ended at 7.00pm. However, he was placed under observation for one hour since he was given heavy sedation. So, we went to the emergency ward and tried getting him to sleep as he was still groggy from the sedation. For the first 15 minutes, he resisted sleep, wanting to walk around although he could hardly stand. He finally dozed-off after we closed the curtains around him.


[Julian resting]

8.00pm saw us leaving the hospital. Julian got up as we drove off. After picking Justin, Julian requested to see airplanes *slaps forehead*! Since we nearly promised him the sun and the moon as his wound was being stitched, we reluctantly obliged. Shortly after parking at the Cargo Complex, a Silk Air aircraft took-off. That really made his day.


[Julian's stitches]


[Julian after the stitches were removed on 12 August 2011]