Easter 2011, Part 1

This year's Easter Weekend was jam-packed full of the kind of excitement you can only get with a big family... It kicked off at 4pm Friday, when Danee walked a little too close in front of the swing set, and got knocked down.

Now, when I was a kid, our swing set sat directly on the grass in our backyard (and my local playground also had the swings directly on the grass) but apparently it's a miracle I survived. Now, thanks to the fact that our home is a licensed day care, we get to know about all the great nanny-state laws, like "All Swings Must Have At Least Six Inches Of Bark Beneath Them, Out To Six Feet From The Perimeter."

I have no idea who determined that bark was more comfortable to fall on than grass, but we are compliant. The problem is, you have to build a box to hold all that bark in, which (in my ever so humble opinion) makes the whole thing far more dangerous than the swings of my youth, because if you're running out of your swing, you're very likely to fall when you hit the edge of the box - and land in the treacherous grass... Or, in Danee's case, you'll walk too close to someone swinging, get knocked back, and CRACK - your head lands right on the edge-board of the box, splitting your scalp open. Safety Feature Fail.

Since Daycare was in full swing at the time, Cindy called 911 and the Fircrest Fire Department came up the hill and wrapped Danee's head while I was driving home from work to take her to the E.R.



Blessings come from the least likely places. Unless you're brand new to keeping up with these Brinkerhoffs, you certainly know that we've spent lots of quality time at the Mary Bridge Hospital and Suites. Over those many visits, we've made some friends in the right places. As we were driving up to the E.R. Valet Parking, I wondered aloud if our good friend Nurse Ricky would be working... and once we got past the door cop who needed to verify that we didn't have any weapons of mass destruction hidden in our baby's diaper or under her head bandage, we got up to the check-in counter, and guess who? Nurse Ricky was there!

Now, I'm certainly not saying that Nurse Ricky plays favorites, but I will say that we were triage'd and placed in an exam room in record time.



Before we even had a chance to complain about being back, there was a doctor in the room, looking at the huge gash in the back of Danee's head, and commenting on how small it was - as if it was an adorable newborn kitten or something - and how it wouldn't need stitches, just glue. We've done the glue thing before, and are firm believers in the amazing medical abilities of Super Glue!

In less time than it takes to watch three Pixar Shorts on Disney XD (with commercials), we were all done, and heading for the car. In the only moment of showing that there may have been some sort of trauma to her head, Danee threw a monstrous fit as we left the hospital. She didn't want to leave, didn't want to get in the car, and DID NOT want to get strapped into her car seat. It really wasn't until we got home that she finally calmed down somewhat, and then still wasn't really happy until she got to go play outside - in the very same back yard where this whole ordeal started.

She was fully back to normal, and our round-trip time from the panic'd phone call telling me to come home NOW, to returning from the hospital, was just over two hours. That's a record - and it's amazing how enjoyable the E.R. can be when you have friends in the right places, and you're not there for respiratory distress. I'd take several more of these types of visits instead of ANY more lunch related stays!

Friday night was in the books, and Easter Weekend still had lots more to offer... maybe you'll read about more of them tomorrow!