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Little Accidents

Galilee General Hospital

Saturday, June 20, 1992

1:30 PM

“Come on, munchkin,” Lee held the book he’d grabbed from the waiting room bookcase in one hand while he tried to keep a squirming Jenna on this lap. “Let’s just read this book, huh?”

“No,” Jenna replied, wiping at her eyes with a chubby fist. “Don’t want the book. No book!” Her voice rose on the last word—the nurse at the front desk shot them a glance. Let her look, Lee decided. She wasn’t the one who’d been sitting in the ER for an hour and a half.

An hour and a half—he had to keep reminding himself of that fact. It felt like it had been forever.

“Well that’s okay,” Lee kept his voice as calm as possible. “We don’t have to read the book if you don’t want to.” Closing the thin volume, he placed it on a nearby table.

“Want toys?”

“No, there aren’t any toys.”

“But I want now.”

Tired, Lee told himself. She only got unreasonable when she was tired. Then again, who wouldn’t be tired at this point? He certainly was. Lee shifted uncomfortably in the orange vinyl chair—who the hell covered their chairs in bright Day-Glo orange anyway? The material gave a little squeak and a sigh as he moved. He glanced up at the TV mounted on the corner ceiling. Some talk show about wild teens. Thank God the volume was down.

“Cover your mouth, Cameron.” a tired looking woman seated across from him reminded her violently coughing child—who looked to be about five years old. She rubbed Cameron’s back as he coughed and she and Lee exchanged brief, sympathetic glances; both knowing that this was the last place in the world they wanted to be.

He really hated hospitals.

“D—a—ddy—” somehow his daughter managed to stretch that word out into three syllables. She arched her back, big dark eyes staring into his own. “We go home?”

‘Oh, I wish,’ he thought fervently.

“We can’t go home yet,” Lee said. “I want a doctor to look at your hurt hand, okay?”

“’kay.” Jenna looked down at her right hand, inspecting the bandage he’d applied before coming here. Tiny fingers reached for the tapes securing the bandage to her skin.

“No,” he grabbed her other hand, stopping her. “Don’t mess with it, Jenna.” Pink still spread underneath the layers of gauze—telling him that the wound was still bleeding slightly.

He should’ve kept a better eye on her. This never would’ve happened if he’d been more careful.

*~~*

“Hey, Daddy--come—come get me!”

She’d been laughing as she ran, turning her head, making sure that he was following behind her—

“I’ll get you, munchkin.”

“No you won’t—I too fast!”

That was when it had happened.

Earlier that morning it had been sprinkling—the pea gravel still slightly damp underfoot. Perhaps that was what had caused her to slip? Lee wasn’t sure. He’d watched, helpless, as her feet slipped from underneath her and she fell to the ground.

Even then, he hadn’t known. She’d fallen before—for toddlers it was pretty much par for the course. He’d jogged up to his daughter and knelt beside her, expecting the usual scrapes that Daddy could kiss and make better.

“It’s okay.” He’d crouched down beside her. “Daddy can fix it.”

“My hand.”Jenna whimpered.

“Well here, let’s see.” Gently he’d took her hand in his, turning over her palm to inspect the wound.

This was more than just a simple scrape, he’d realized. Blood oozed out of what looked like a little hole in her hand. A puncture wound? It hadn’t gone all the way through, thank God, but it still looked pretty deep. Gently he’d probed the area and Jenna had let out another little whimper.

“Don’t –stop—it hurt,” she’d whispered, trying to pull her hand back. Her eyes filled with tears. The pain he could see there had just about broken his heart.

“Shhh,” he’d soothed. “I know, munchkin, I know. But Daddy has to see.” Lee had tried to inject confidence in his voice, knowing that she couldn’t hear how his heart was pounding like a drum. He’d dealt with wounds before in his line of work—his own and others—but with his daughter—

‘Can’t fix this one, Scarecrow,’

But if this was a puncture wound, then what had caused—

It was at that point that he’d spotted it—the small piece of wood. It must have fallen off the playground somehow. Lee picked it up, turning it in his hands and then he’d seen it. The tiny nail sticking up, covered with her blood. He’d swallowed, fighting for composure.

“Hurt, Daddy—” At that point Jenna had begun to sob in earnest, her small body trembling as he’d lifted her, rubbing her damp back.

“It’s all right, munchkin—Daddy’s got some stuff in the car and then we’ll go to the doctor.”


*~~*

Luckily he and Amanda always kept a well-stocked first-aid kit in the car for emergencies; otherwise they’d be much worse off than they were now.

“Daddy—home!” Jenna’s near shout brought Lee hurtling back to the present. Heat rose in his face as every head turned to look in their direction.

“It’s okay, munchkin—someone will see us soon.” I hope, he added silently. As if on cue the nurse at the desk marched towards them, clipboard in hand.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to control your child,” she said. “May I remind you that this is a hospital?”

“I have been trying to control my child—but might I remind you that she’s injured and we’ve been waiting for nearly two hours?” Lee regretted his words almost as soon as they left his mouth The woman stiffened, her eyes flashing—if looks could kill Lee was certain he’d be a pile of ashes on the floor.

“I told you before,” she replied frostily. “Someone will get to you as possible.” With that she turned and went back to her desk.

“Dragon lady,” he mumbled under his breath. Jenna looked at him. “You didn’t hear that,” he told her.

“I did too hear,” she replied.

“Shush.”

Jenna sighed. “Go home?”

“No, I told you. We can’t go home. Not until the doctor sees you.”

“When?”

“I don’t know when—but soon.”

“Want now.” Her lower lip stuck out. “Now.”

There must be something he could do; some way to distract Jenna, to keep her entertained. Amanda usually pulled things out of her purse for her to play with but Amanda wasn’t here and he had no purse. Quickly he patted his jeans pockets—damn, nothing in there but keys. His shirt pockets? There was a pen—he pulled it out. It must have been one of Dotty’s—it had Emilio’s Hair Salon in dark red letters on the side. But what good would that do him? Jenna couldn’t draw with her bandaged hand. Sudden inspiration hit him.

“Jenna, would you like me to write your name?”

“Where?”

He didn’t have any paper—think fast— “How about on your hand? See, look—” he wrote across the top of her right hand, on the bandaged part. “J-e-n-n-a. See? And then we’ll put a heart.”

Jenna nodded approvingly. “Other hand too?”

“Your wish is my command,” he kissed the top of her left hand and Jenna giggled.

“Write munchkin,” she instructed.

“Okay. M-u-n-c-h-k-i-n,” Lee spelled it out as he wrote. “And then we’ll put another heart under that.”

"I match," she said.

“Yes, you definitely match.”

“Jenna Stetson?” Another nurse stood in front of them now, clipboard in hand. “The doctor is ready to see you—if you’ll just follow me, please.”

Lee stood, gathering Jenna in his arms. “We’re ready.”

SMK SMK SMK

“Okay,” Dr. Reese said as he carefully re-bandaged the wound. “That should just about do it.”

“See, munchkin?” Lee said to Jenna as he held her in his lap. “That wasn’t bad at all, was it?”

“No,” Jenna’s voice was small. “We go home now?”

Lee kissed the top of her head.“We’re going home soon; don’t worry.”

“’Kay.” She wasn’t happy, Lee knew, but she seem resigned to the fact. Probably too tired at this point to be much of anything else, he figured. It had been a long day for them both.

“I have to say that you did an excellent job of cleaning and bandaging the wound the first time, Mr. Stetson.” Dr. Reese said.

“Well I’ve had some experience with first aid,” Lee explained.

“It’s served you well,” Dr. Reese replied. “We should have the results of the X-ray in the next day or so—though I doubt we’ll find anything. And you’ll need to change the dressing about twice a day. I’m also going to write you a prescription for liquid antibiotics to ward off infection—let me know if you see anything like a discharge, or any swelling or redness. And she has no allergies?”

“No—no allergies.”

“Just wanted to double check.” Dr. Reese made a note on his clipboard. “It would also be best if she refrain from any activities that might reopen or aggravate the injury—at least for the next few days.”

“Yes,” Lee nodded. “I understand.” Getting a three-year-old to keep still and take medicine would be a challenge, he knew. But he was sure that together he and Amanda could handle it.

“There is just one more thing.”

One more thing. Lee knew without even asking what was coming; he could sense it. Dread began to gather in the pit of his stomach.

“I see here that Jenna is due for a tetanus booster in a few months,” Dr. Reese continued. “As another precaution I think she should have that today.”

Booster. He let out a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding. Booster was good. Jenna didn’t know what booster meant.

“I agree,” Lee replied. “She does need that booster.”

“Booster?” Jenna leaned her head back to look at him. “What’s that?”

‘Please, don’t let him say it. Don’t let him say the ‘s’ word—’ “Dr Reese—” he began.

“Don’t worry, this will just take a moment, Jenna,” the Doctor said. “Just a little shot and it won’t hurt a—”

He said it. Lee watched as Jenna’s expression immediately clouded.

“No—no shots.” She shook her head emphatically. “No.”

Lee and the doctor exchanged glances. “Munchkin, listen—it’ll just be a little shot and it’ll be fine.”

“Daddy, pease—”

“Look,” he strove to keep his voice as calm as possible. “We’ll be right here together, okay? I’ll hold you the whole time—”

“No shot—no, no!” the last word came out in a shriek that almost broke the sound barrier. Jenna’s face crumpled and she dissolved into a fit of sobbing.

“Jenna—”

“No—go home—not shot—Daddy, let go—pease!” The more he tried to keep a hold on her the more fiercely she struggled, legs flailing. “Pease! Let go!” Another shriek—Lee was sure that his eardrums were ready to burst.

“I’m not going to let you go until you calm down.” He had to raise his voice to be heard over her. “Are you going to calm down?”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Don’t—want—to.” A gulping breath between each word, her face bright red. “Let go—go home.”

“I told you, we’ll go home soon.” Lee gritted his teeth as her shoe made contact with the top of his foot.

“No—not—soon. Now! Let go!” Her body twisted, going suddenly limp—he had to struggle just to keep a grip.

“I’ll let you go when you calm down, munchkin. Will you calm down?”

That seemed to work. Jenna fell quiet; her movements finally calmed. “’Kay,” she sniffled.

“All right.” Lee released his grip. “Now as soon as we get this done we can—”

But before he could finish his sentence Jenna ducked underneath the curtains of the cubicle and disappeared.
Lee rose to his feet. “Jenna,” he called out. “Munchkin, come back here!” he turned towards the doctor. “I’ll go get her.”

Dr. Reese nodded, already moving towards the phone on the wall. “I’ll call security and have them man the exits.”

“Thank you,” Lee left the curtained cubicle, his eyes scanning from left to right as he strode around the emergency ward. No sign so far. Where the hell could she be? She had to be somewhere close by, he reasoned. After all, how far could a three-year-old wearing a hospital gown emblazoned with a picture of Elmo get?

He was forgetting whose child she was.

‘Think Stetson, think.’ The thing was to stay calm; calm and focused. Not to think about what would happen if he had to call Amanda and tell her that he lost their only daughter in the emergency room. He took deep breaths, willing his racing pulse to slow.

Hide and seek. When Jenna would play at home she’d always hide under or behind something—but usually under, because that provided her more coverage.

“Come out wherever you are,” he’d call—and usually he’d get a delighted giggle in response. Not this time, though. This time she did not want to be found.

Under something. Perhaps a blanket, or a bed—

A bed— or a gurney, Lee thought, stepping nimbly aside as one rushed passed him. Maybe a gurney behind one of these curtains? He pulled one open.

“Do you mind?” A man snapped. He lay on his side, bottom exposed—the doctor getting ready to—heat rose in Lee’s face

“Excuse me,” he quickly pulled the curtain shut. Not there. He pulled open the second curtain and a blond woman in the process of changing into her hospital gown let out a shriek, covering her chest with the gown.

“How dare you!” she exclaimed.

“I’m sorry—I was just looking for a little—” Lee tried to explain but the woman kept talking, not letting him finish.

“I don’t care what you were looking for a little of—get out of here! Orderly!”

Lee closed the curtain again. Definitely not hiding there. There was another curtain; another cubicle.

Did he have the nerve to look in there?

He had to—he needed to find his daughter. But did he really want to risk more hysteria? Lee decided to try another tactic. He tapped softly on the curtain.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” he asked. “Hello?”

No response. Slowly he drew the curtain aside. An elderly woman lay on a gurney, sound asleep. Another dead end—with a sigh Lee was about to pull the curtain shut once more when he heard it. A little cough and a sniffle.

He knew that cough. The sheets covering the bottom of the gurney moved slightly.

“Munchkin?” Lee said.

“I not here,” a small voice chimed. Lee moved towards the gurney and knelt on the ground, pulling the sheets aside. He looked into Jenna’s tearstained face.

“Hey there,” he said quietly. “You playing hide and seek?”

Jenna wiped at her eyes, staring out at him from beneath a tousled blonde mop. “No.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“I no want a shot,” she said. “It hurt.”

“I know,” he said. “But sometimes you need to get a shot.”

“Why?”

“So you don’t get sick. You need the shot so you won’t get sick.”

She fell silent—she seemed to be considering the idea. Lee held his breath, hoping it would work.

Jenna drew in a shuddering breath. “I want no sick and no shots too.”

He should’ve seen that one coming—Lee drew his hand back through his hair, deciding to try another tactic. “If you get the shot,” he said. “We’ll go out for ice cream after. How about that?”

“Ice cream?” Jenna’s face brightened slightly.

“Yeah,” Lee said. “I’ll even get you a cone with two scoops. Just please come out from under there.”

When all else fails, try bribery.

After a few minutes Jenna crawled out from under the gurney. Lee scooped her up, cradling her against him—she rested her head on his shoulder.

‘My poor, tired munchkin.’ He kissed her forehead.

And let out a yelp as something pinched his posterior. Startled, Lee turned to see the older woman, now wide awake and smiling widely.

“I certainly hope you’re my Doctor, big fella.” she said.

“I—ahhh—I really have to—” Before the woman could say anything else he turned and left.

SMK SMK SMK SMK

“I got everything ready when you were gone,” Dr. Reese said. “That way we can get this done and over with.”

“Good idea,” Lee replied. Needle in hand the doctor approached the chair where he sat, Jenna in his arms. Jenna stiffened as she looked at the approaching doctor—her dark eyes grew wide with fear.

“It’s okay,” Lee soothed, smoothing her hair. “I’m right here—don’t look at the needle—just look right up at me.” She craned her head upwards, her eyes looking up into his.

“I’m going to give her the shot in the upper part of her leg,” Dr. Reese explained, dabbing quickly at Jenna’s upper right leg with a small alcohol wipe. “Won’t take but a second, I promise.”

“Keep looking at me,” Lee continued to hold her gaze as he spoke. “It’s okay—everything’s okay.” Jenna’s eyes filled with sudden tears—she whimpered and he knew the needle had hit its target. He held her close, rocking her back and forth.

“It’s all over,” he told her. “You were very brave.”

“Yes, you were,” Dr. Reese said. “And that deserves a grape sucker—here you go, Jenna.” He picked one out of the jar and handed it to her.

“Thank you,” Jenna took the lollipop. “And daddy gets one too, right?”

Dr. Reese smiled. “Of course he does.”

The End
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