the surprise splinter...

So we had friends over for dinner last night.

They pastor FREECHURCH TORONTO the church I (and my wife) planted with one of my HOMEBOYS back in the day.  We were gonna' bbq and talk shop and hang out.

Then my littlest daughter, Zoe, stood up on her chair and fell, sliding down the front of the chair.  When she wouldn't stop crying (as would be normal after a little fall like that) Niki took her up to the bath to try and calm her down.

"Todd..." came the call from upstairs.  "Can you come here, please..."

And there it was, sticking out of my daughter's back.  A 5mm splinter.

My poor wife looked like she was going to pass out and my baby girl was screaming.  I grabbed the end of it and pulled. You can imagine the howling that ensued.  Out it came.

Or so I thought.

We thought Zoe would calm down for sure now but she kept moaning and jumping around trying to distract herself from the pain.  I pulled her out of the tub, pinned her on the sink (cooing to her all the while) and told her 'Daddy had to check it...' while pressing the wound and, sure thing, there was still a very large part of it imbedded deep in her back.

Now, let it be said, we have four kids.  I've cut slivers, chunks of glass even, out of my boys' feet and fingers.  I was a boy once, and learned to cut things out of my own body so that my Dad would stop doing it.

But a back?

No way.

So, apologies and hugs to our friends, Nik and I hopped in the car (Niki's Mom showed up at just the right moment--bringing 'This is It' for my MJ-obsessed eldest--so she agreed to stay with the three big kids) and drove to the emergency room.

Once there, Zoe's cute-factor and obvious need ('foreign body lodged in back' is the magic phrase to use...) got us fast-tracked and an hour after arriving I had Zoe pinned to my body, her little back exposed, her little lungs forcing the air out of her mouth in bloodcurdling shrieks as the Doctor cut her little back open just enough to pull this out...

A 3-4mm splinter.

Awesome.

As soon as they finished the nurses showed up with a popsicle and a bandage and Zoe looked me in the eye asking, "All out, Daddy?"  

Yes babe, it's all out.

Thank God and thanks to the great team at Joseph Brant Memorial hospital.

Poor baby.

The cool thing was how calm Niki and I were.  We knew exactly what to do, knew to bring my laptop with 'Elmo's World' on it followed by 'UP', knew exactly how to hold her and what to sing to her, knew how to 'work' the staff and encourage our little girl.

You'd think we'd been parents for a decade or something.

And there's YOUR point good reader.

You keep living your life, keep doing what you do long enough and you'll end up gaining some degree of mastery, which should help you navigate the little surprises life throws at you...

T