Tinkerty Tonk / Jawohl!: 2012

Today my life changed. My big boy is now going to kindergarten! And it's a bilingual one which makes it easy for me to actually communicate with the teachers. Calvin was so excited leading up to the big day but I was nervous about how it would actually go down. Turns out, I had no need to fear...Cal had no trouble saying "Bye Mommy!" and off he went. At the moment, we're only going half days so when I picked him up after lunch, he was excited to see me but not in a get-me-out-of-here kind of way. The teachers also said he did well. I think he will love kindergarten even more when St. Nicholas comes for a visit on Thursday.

So what did I do with my 4 hours off? Isaac and I got some groceries, did the laundry, washed the dishes, and took a nap (well, Isaac did...I read a book)! I've never felt so productive! It wasn't the best day for walking to and from the kindergarten but we managed alright in the snow.

An excited boy

Today could have gone a lot smoother. But actually, it could have been a lot worse.

Calvin, Isaac, and I went to a local playground that is new to us. It is probably a 15 minute walk from our apartment but I took Isaac in the bike trailer and Calvin rode his bike. As soon as we got there, I remembered that I left my phone on the table. "Oh well", I thought. We were having a great time there and they have a huge rope structure to climb on, which was perfect for Calvin. Isaac was getting into the ropes too and was navigating his way along the low stretch of ropes which ran beneath a tunnel/slide. Cal decided to join him and had to crouch to his level. Then, he decided to stand up and forcefully rammed his head into the bottom of the tunnel. Blood started spilling from his head, covering the side of his head, neck, and right arm. He started screaming which made Isaac scream. Meanwhile, I'm trying to get through the ropes to lift him out of the maze and then doing it again to get Isaac.

I strap them both into the trailer (both screaming still) and have Calvin hold a nappy to his head. I run/walk my bike while holding Cal's bike and start thinking of my options. I have no way of contacting Nick, I don't know where the nearest emergency room is, I don't know German, I don't know what insurance we have. Three of those things a responsible adult should know. My first thought is to bike to our doctor's office, which is about 15 minutes away. But then I think it might be more serious and I would probably be redirected to a hospital anyway. I see a woman on her balcony talking with a group of children and I manage to communicate that I need to get to a hospital (Krankenhaus auf Deutsch). She runs down and calls an ambulance (KrankenWagen) on her phone. She speaks no English but one of the children was able to communicate a little with me. Then she runs to get a neighbor who does speak English. She comes out with her husband and offers to take our bikes for us while we go to the hospital. In all the confusion, I hand her husband, Sebastian, my keys for locking up the bikes. All this time, Calvin is starting to scare me because he is sitting there quietly and looking like he could fall asleep. I'm constantly trying to talk to him while holding a very upset Isaac. The movies and TV have taught me that you always need to keep them awake, with the actors always saying "Stay with me!" Is this really true? In any case, it scared the $#*@ out of me. (sorry for the language)

The ambulance arrives, two men come and check out Calvin, which he doesn't like at all. They decide the wound looks severe enough to be taken into the hospital. The gruffer one see me standing with Isaac and says that Isaac can't come in the ambulance. I start crying. Sebastian, the man taking our bikes, offers to drive Isaac in his car and follow us to the hospital. I get into the ambulance with Cal and thankfully, the gentler EMT gets in the back with us.

They take us to the children's hospital, which is way far north. I felt like we were driving for an hour, but it was probably more like 25 minutes. The sirens were not on, so that made me feel better. Also, Cal had perked up a bit and was trying to talk with the EMT, who only spoke a little English. We get to the hospital and check in at the desk. Since I left my phone, I don't know Nick's number, I don't know my phone number and I don't know what type of insurance we have. The only thing I know is my address and Calvin's birthday! Thankfully, they say I can call back with the insurance info. We then see a nurse and then a doctor who ends up cleaning the wound and all of his hair, shaving off some hair and using "glue" to close up the wound. It was small enough that it didn't need any stitches. Calvin was extremely brave and tough through all of this. He didn't flinch when any of the nurses or doctors dealt with his wound. I think it helped that this was a Children's Hospital and the waiting area had a merry-go-round and a model train exhibit (guess what he loved?!).

After we were told we could leave the hospital, I now have the challenge of actually getting home. I only have 18€ and I have no idea where I am. I have no access to money because the hospital cash machine will not accept my US or UK cards (and it is taking forever for me to get on the German account). Not only that, I can't go straight home because I've given my keys to Sebastian! The nurse said I could take the tram back into the city center but I have no idea where to start. Instead, I place my hopes on getting a taxi and the very kind receptionist called for one to come with child seats. He arrives and I'm finally able to use the German I've learned! I tell him where I need to go but that I only have 18€ and will that be enough. He tells me that should be enough and we get on the road. We proceed very slowly through the city because of an accident and it takes forever to get down a small stretch of road. The taxi driver eventually turned off the meter. I told him where to pull off for what I hope is Sebastian's neighborhood and he just asked for €18. I swear I had a guardian angel today.

I carry Isaac and hold Cal's hand while we start navigating the maze that is this neighborhood, trying to find exactly where we were when we ran into all of those helpful people. Luckily, I didn't have to go too far and found Sebastian's house and our bikes sitting outside. And again, just my luck, Sebastian was still home and he didn't realize he still had my keys. We then proceeded to make our way home (Cal wanted to ride his bike!) and finally got there safe and sound. First thing we did? Washed off our bloody hands. Second? Ice cream treat. Third? Oh, finally call Nick.

It was a difficult day but I was so lucky in all the people that I met. As most of you can probably guess, I'm not very good in a crisis but I think I held myself together about 70% of the time. I just wish I could convey my appreciation to the people that helped me along the way. I plan on sending notes to Sebastian and his wife and the other lady who called the ambulance. Wish me luck on the translating!

So our little guy seems to be doing alright but we have to watch him for the next 48 hours to see if he has a concussion (Gehirnerschütterung). He has been pretty happy since we got home so I'm holding out hope for the next 48 hours. Cal doesn't like the idea of us waking him up every 3 hours and I'm guessing we'll have some Isaac wake-ups because of this. So we may not sleep much the next two nights!

I know this was a lengthy recap but, you know me, I like telling all the details. I also want to be able to look back on this day and realize how lucky we were. And hopefully, the next 48 hours will be the same.

And one final note, when we got home and I was spoiling Calvin, I asked him "Is there anything else you want right now?" His head was down and he lifted his eyes towards me and shyly asked "Cake?" I think he deserves one.