Return Of The Children

I had a two week repreive from the kids, but the "break" ended in illness for me. I dragged myself to work Monday morning after a weekend on the couch to be greeted with a tiny kindergartner puking up breakfast in my office, and as I held the trash can for him, I silently begged for his mother to hurry the heck up. Eventually she came, but not until well after I'd lost my own appetite. The rest of the day was a bloody blur: a fire drill, minor asthma attacks, and a serious nosebleed on a kid that didn't know what to do with it, and therefore had to "check it" every five seconds. Feeling worse by the minute, I switched schools midday hoping the change would let me soak in my misery in peace. I went to my middle school to see if my Tdap work had paid off at all, but barely touched the shot records as I was bombarded with various needs. There were the usual kids in to take their medication, and then a particularly bloody kid who had been tripped running during P.E. Cleaning him up was easier than the other task, which was to keep him conscious as he turned colorless looking down at the blood seeping out of his scrapes. Finally, I went to take a break and update the attendance clerk on our Tdap status, and a kid walked in with his hand on his head. I asked what happened and he responded, "I busted my head open!" I figured this must be like the kids who walk into my office complaining of a broken leg, but when I asked to see it, I was taken aback to see blood gushing out of his head - he really did cut it open. I have never seen so much blood in a single day of work, and it was reminiscent of my nursing school days in the labor and delivery department. All in all, quite a welcome back. Now, onward: to summer vacation.