On Thursday, November 3rd, 2011, I was talking to a good friend of mine on videophone. Then I received an urgent e-mail from Alex's teacher near the end of the school day. She said that another student had accidently hit Alex in the chin. The school nurse took a look at it and found it to be split open. She thought it would take one or 2 stitches. Did I want to send Alex on the bus or did I want to pick him up? He seemed fine. I told her to send Alex on the bus since it was near the end of the school day anyways and he seemed fine. When Alex arrived home, he had a Strawberry Shortcake band aid on his chin and an ice pack that the nurse had sent with him. Alex pointed to his chin and signed to me "hurt". I took a look at his chin and sure enough it was split open. I then decided to drive Alex to an urgent care center near our home. I had texted John informing him of what had happened to Alex. He was still at work. I then explained to Alex in American Sign Language that we were going to see the doctor. When we arrived at the urgent care center, I had to fill out the insurance paperwork for Alex. I also informed the staff that Alex is Deaf and Autistic. After a short period of waiting in the waiting room, we were then directed to go in the examining room. The male nurse came in the room to take Alex's vitals and then left. John was later able to come and see Alex and I in the examining room. We all had been waiting in that room for well over an hour. Alex was becoming upset and kept signing "doctor come!" What 8 year old wants to sit in an examing room for over an hour? The male nurse did come by and explained to us that another patient had come in after Alex and needed immediate care. Finally, when the doctor did come in, he apologized for the long wait and explained he had to take care of another patient that needed immediate medical attention. He took a look at Alex's chin and said that he would need at least 2 stitches. The doctor then told us that we would need to go into the treatment room where he could do the procedure. As we all walked into the room, Alex was becoming more frightened. We explained to him that the doctor would "fix" his chin and sew it, that the doctor just wanted to help him get better. Alex had to lie down on the table as the doctor prepared. There was a nurse there to assist. Unfortunately, the doctor had to give Alex a shot right in his chin to numb it before he did the stitches. Poor Alex was screaming and signing "no, stop!" The nurse and doctor had to put Alex in a papoose wrap to prevent him from moving his body too much. John and I tried our best to explain that the doctor was trying to help him. John, the nurse and I had to hold Alex down while the doctor gave Alex the shot in his chin. Alex was sure a strong fighter and moved a lot! So, the doctor had to call in the male nurse to come hold Alex down, eventhough he had the papoose wrap. When he was able to finally give Alex the shot, he then had to start on the stitches. John and I once again explained that the doctor was going to "sew" his chin. Alex did not want this at all. We all had to help hold him down while the doctor did his job without injuring Alex or the the nurse who was holding his head. He was screaming the whole time and I just felt so bad for him. Then the doctor informed us that it would take 4 stitches to close up with split. When he was all done with the stitches, Alex was ready to bolt out of the room and just go home! The doctor told us that Alex would need to keep his chin dry and open. So no band aid or water on it for at least 5 days. The following week on Friday, November 11, 2011, John and I took Alex to see his pediatrician to have his stitches removed. Once again, Alex was scared because he didn't fully understand what was going to happen to him. Alex had to again be in a papoose wrap, John and two nurses had to hold him down. I was signing to Alex the whole time the doctor was removing his stitches. I signed " I love you and you are doing a good job!" He watched me the whole time and this seemed to calm him down a bit. It helped that there was no shots involved in removing the stitches. Once this was all done, Alex was happy and got a sticker from the doctor.
This is one of our biggest challenges with Alex's Autism, communication. We try to find ways to communicate with him. Our main method of communication right now is American Sign Language. We have used pictures that were made through the Boardmaker program but when you are in a situation in which you need to act fast, you can't always remember to bring pictures. Also, the Boardmaker program is expensive and we don't have access to it at home. John and I wonder what if a situation arises in the future when Alex is a teen or an adult, and needs immediate medical attention, how will the medical staff deal with his issue of being Deaf and Autistic? Will Alex need to be sedated to do a simple procedure, due to not understanding what is happening to him? It is one of the many challenges we face with our son. Eventhough Alex is Deaf and Autistc, we love him and have accepted him for who he is. We do our best to help him as he continues to grow.
