Leina got her first set of stitches yesterday.  Don’t worry, she didn’t get hurt or anything.  No, these stitches were  purely preventative but also totally unexpected.

Leina has had this very dark mole on her knee for a while.  I thought it was a blood blister but at her last check up, her doctor saw it.  Not a blood blister but a suspicious mole.  So we were referred to a specialist and yesterday was our appointment.  The doctor took one look at it and said it had to go.  No problem, I thought.  I’ll just make an appointment and we’ll come back and have it removed.  Yeah, no.  The doctor laughed at me and said, we’ll just take it off right now.

Now, if you have ever met Leina, you will know she is the world’s biggest chicken.  She has a melt down over a flu shot.  The idea of having a mole cut out of her knee?  With no warning or preparation?  Can we say major melt down?  The doctor and nurse were a bit out of their league I think.  I’m guessing most of their patients are adults because the nurse sat Leina down and said, “I don’t lie to children.  I’m going to be honest with you.  I have to give you a shot and it will…..”  That’s about all I heard because at this point, Leina started screaming.  Shot = screams with my kid.  I was fluttering behind Leina trying to catch the nurse’s eye and mouthing “LIE TO HER!  LIE TO HER!”  Instead, I had to grab Leina and hold her down when the nurse gave her the tiny and painless shot.  Once done, she left the room so I could calm my crazy shot-phobic kid.  As usual, Leina caught her breath, looked at me and said, “hey, that didn’t hurt very much at all!”

The mole removal was easy right until Leina looked down and saw the stitches across her knee.  Then she got a bit pale and fainty looking so the Doctor slapped a band-aid on it which helped.  Leina is doing ok now so long as you don’t say “stitches”.  Instead, we call it her “scrape” or “strawberry”.

How this child will ever give birth I have no idea.  Clearly, she has her father’s tolerance for pain.  When we go back to get her stitches removed, I’m going to sit that nurse down and tell her to lie her head off to my kid.  Please.