Romney's Big Adventure

Maybe it was a feeling of foreboding, or a premonition on Tuesday, but I started the day in a terrible mood! An elderly customer helped improve my mood slightly, but I really didn't want to be at work that day. Be careful what you wish for!

Just after 1 pm, I got The Phone Call that every mother with a boy knows they are bound to get someday. Romney told me he had just been in a bike accident. I asked if it was bad, and he said yes -- there was blood all over, he thought he had broken his nose, and he had lost a tooth.

Well, that was enough information to get me to close down the store for the rest of the day! When I found him, he was disoriented, bloody, and in a lot of pain. We ended up spending the rest of the day in the emergency room.

Here's what happened. Rom Sr. had jury duty that day (curse you, our jury system!). I would be at work. I could handle the morning carpooling, and I had the afternoon carpooling taken care of, but there was one problem left. Romney Jr. leaves HAAAT after lunch to go to Hemet High for swim and water polo, and I usually drive him. He thoughtfully suggested that, just this once, he could ride his bike to Hemet High. It seemed like such a good idea at the time! Since it was not our usual routine, it did not even occur to me to check for and insist on a helmet.

Romney started off after lunch and made it just past the busiest street in Hemet. The bike he was riding has a quick release for the front tire, and apparently someone had been messing with it, unbeknownst to us. The front wheel came off, and Romney went right over the handlebars, planting his face in the asphalt. He was very lucky that another bike rider came by right about then. Romney was wandering in circles in the middle of the street; the bike rider helped get him out of the street and over to a dentist's office where he could be taken care of while he waited for me.

He was so disoriented! I'm amazed that he had the presence of mind to remember that Rom was at jury duty and I was at the store. I'm amazed he was able to remember the phone number. I'm amazed he was able to tell me the cross streets where he was waiting.

We were so lucky (blessed) that it wasn't worse than it was! He had abrasions all over his face. He had one laceration on the bridge of his nose that didn't need stitches (they super-glued it). His nose suffered only a hairline fracture. He was wearing his favorite sunglasses, and they were destroyed, but they protected his eyes from damage. He broke one tooth that we were able to have repaired the next day. He'll still probably need a root canal done on it when he's healed more. Most of the rest of his teeth have been jostled around a bit, but the dentist said they should move back into place with normal biting and chewing.

He'll probably have a few more scars on his face. I told him that since he's such a handsome boy, he must have been trying to level the playing field a little.

I hope that's the last injury for this boy! I'll be amazed if he makes it to adulthood.