Sam’s Pencil Adventure

Last week Sam got stabbed by a pencil.

Ok, that sounded a lot more violent than it actually was (or at least so I think).

He was at school and was sitting down on the carpet for some activity, and leaned back and his hand was punctured by a pencil that had been left on the floor – somehow in a precarious position I guess and it got him.

This was last Thursday. We saw it, said “oh no” and that was the end of that.

All weekend, everything was fine. He played, he did lots of arts and crafts, and never mentioned his hand again.

On Monday we picked him up from school and his hand was hurting a lot. It looked pretty ugly and was a bit swollen. He reported playing in a lot of dirt and carrying heavy rocks, so I suspect some bacteria got in the little puncture that was almost completely closed.

We went home and cleaned it up and he seemed fine. Rob went to check on it before we went to bed, and it looked angrier and more swollen. So, he took him to the closest ER.

They checked him out, did an x-ray to ensure nothing was still in there, and then loaded him up with antibiotics.

The next afternoon, it was even worse. Three doses of antibiotics later and nothing. Rob took him to the local children’s clinic for a second opinion, and they sent them off to the Children’s Hospital.

Needless to say that was best thing they did, because Sam required some serious antibiotics to be delivered by IV and ended up being admitted for 2 nights. Who knew what a nasty number a pencil could do on you?

The good thing was Sam actually had a good time. Once he got past the first night, where he had some pain, and eventually got some sleep after being admitted in the middle of the night (after being in ER all evening), he was feeling pretty good. His hand was splinted in a half cast and he had to keep his arm elevated and he was hooked up to an IV. But, he was able to roam around, check out the gift store multiple times, and even had a playdate with his good friend who was at the hospital being treated for cancer (boy, do we appreciate dealing with pencil punctures over cancer). He also got to cash in on some gifts and treats, and enjoyed the “hotel like” room service. But, by the second night, he was bouncing off walls and clearly itching to get home.

He was released the morning after the second night with some oral antibiotics and thankfully with a much healed hand. What a little trooper. Beware of pencils however.

Here’s some pictures that we took to document his stay (and include in his yearly photo album):