We figured after everything Jacob's been through this week, he earned the right to wear the Stuntman t-shirt.
He powered through getting 15-20 stitches put in without having to be put under. It took a straight jacket and three of us laying across his little body to hold him down during the procedure, and he screamed the entire time. But he did it, which is more than I think I could do. We didn't realize just how much he was fighting us during the process of being sewn back together until his dad and I noticed the next day just how sore we were from trying to hold him still.
He has put up with being held, restrained, stuck in a walker, or strapped into his car seat for the better part of every waking moment for the past four days. The ER doctor put a great little temporary splint on his finger before he was discharged from the hospital, but it was up to us to keep him from putting any unnecessary pressure on it. That meant no falling, crawling, or driving trucks around. And that, we soon discovered, meant that someone had to be physically holding onto him at every moment. To make this more bearable, we spent a lot of mornings cruising around in the buggy at Target, one very fun afternoon at the mall riding the train and the carousel, and a lot of time eating snacks at the table with Jacob strapped into his booster seat. A dear friend loaned us a baby walker that allowed Jacob some sense of freedom while keeping him upright and out of harm's way. It also gave me a few minutes to do things like make breakfast or unload the dishwasher with both hands. My mom has been here, helping me with stooping-over-holding-the-baby-upright duties. Caring for our family has definitely been a group effort this week.
So many friends have called, left messages, provided meals, and offered babysitting and other help, and we are so very thankful. But mostly, we are thankful for your prayers for our little guy through this ordeal. They have been heard, and they have been answered.
We had our follow-up appointment with the hand specialist today, and he gave us the good reports we were praying for. The God who knitted our little Jacob together in the first place is indeed knitting him back together now. The doctor said that the blood flow in the tip of his finger looked good, and the wound seems to be healing nicely. (Personally, I think Jacob looks like Frankenbaby. Caution: The pictures are not for the faint of heart.) He will have a scar circling his finger where the fingertip was severed, but it should fade over time. By the time he's old enough to care about battle scars, be probably won't even be able to see this one.
I have held on to the promise of the ER doctor who told us that children are like starfish when it comes to healing, and that Jacob's finger was going to be just fine. It looks like he was right, and for that I am praising the mighty God who created these amazingly intricate bodies we live in.
Jacob's finger was rewrapped today and put into a cast that extends from his armpit to about an inch past his finger tips. This, the doctor assures us, will be all the protection that finger needs to heal over the next two and a half weeks. They left a little stump of his thumb sticking out in case he still wants to be a thumb-sucker after all that hand has been through. We'll see how that goes.
For now, we're prepping Abby and Caleb for the inevitable bruises their little brother is going to inflict on them as he learns to function with a giant fiberglass club for an arm. It took Jacob a while, but he's learning to keep his balance with all that extra weight on one side and he seems to enjoy being able to play again, albeit without the use of his left arm. I'm trying to remember where I put all those clothes that I cut the left arm off of when Caleb wore his cast a little over a year ago, and building up a nice pile of little boys' left sleeves in the meantime.
Please continue to pray for full healing of Jacob's finger, for minimal pain, and for no complications. We serve a great God, and He is looking after our little guy!
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