Sight for sore eyes

Sydney - who, mere weeks ago, had a big black eye - now as seven good-sized stitches closing a very clean, three centimeter cut above her right eye. Fortunately, she also has her sight. Jackson was taking a gleaming, razor sharp, three-quarter inch, wood working chisel from her - precisely as I had instructed him on prior occasions - when she resisted, the chisel slipped from his hands, and it plunged across Sydney's eyebrow. Jackson dutifully held a towel over the wound and consoled Sydney while Jen dressed all the kids and they raced to the emergency room. The doctors strapped Sydney to a backboard, inflated the area with little pockets of Lidocaine from a hypodermic needle, and proceeded to stitch the area shut. I knew she couldn't feel a thing, but she was hollering at the top of her lungs; poor little girl. Just about every person I know has a cut in that very spot, but it's typically from falling. So, rather than wring my hands - which, come to think of it, wouldn't do any good even if this wound was rare - the doctor and I chatted about Grandpa's book, the Naked Communist.

He also pointed out to me that he was using Lidocaine without epinephrine. This is an important point for you parents. Epinephrine, aka adrenaline, is a vasoconstricter; it stops bleeding...and circulation. That can be good or very bad. Suppose you cut your stomach, a vasoconstricter can be good because that tissue has other sources of circulation. Now, suppose you cut your finger and the doctor uses epinephrine. Yup, you guessed it; when you take that bandage off your unbathed hand three days from now, as instructed, your wound will be healed AND your finger will be black and dead. It has happened too, so don't dismiss the risk. Watch when your kids get stitches. Lidocaine is for numbing all wounds. Lidocaine with ephinephrine - to stop the bleeding - is only appropriate for areas that have tons of alternative circulation.

She could have put her eye out. Her eye is still bruised from the black eye she got a few weeks ago. So, we're glad there is still sight in that sore eye.