The ups and downs and everything in between.

As - salaam all.

About 2 weeks ago on a Friday afternoon, I get an urgent phone call from my mom. “Come quickly, Uthmaan knocked his head and it’s bleeding”. I think to myself okay this is normal, Uthmaan is a little clumsy and has had his fair share of bumps and knocks.

My sister and I arrive at our parents’ home to find everybody outside in the front yard area, Uthmaan sitting on a small chair and …… blood on the paving. Ebrahim comes running “Mommy come quick, Uthmaan knocked his head and it’s bleeding”.

Uthmaan is sitting very quietly on the chair, he is not moving he is just sitting until I arrive and then the tears start. Imaan (my sister’s daughter) comes over to help calm Uthmaan down.

Side note: Imaan and Uthmaan are two peas in a pod, she has probably fallen as many times as what Uthmaan has.

Ebrahim says to me, “mommy I will show you what happened”, he explains that they were playing soccer outside and the ball rolled towards the gate. The gate motor at my parents’ home is in a metal frame. The ball rolled under the frame and Uthmaan went to fetch it as he stood up, he knocked his head on the sharp point of the framework. The next thing the blood is shooting out of his head.

My dad, love listening to your stories explains the same thing that Ebrahim explained but with a lot more emphasis on the blood shooting. In his words, “it shot out like a rocket”.

Nuhaa starts her version with she was on her way to go make salaah and then there was blood.

My mom, the sweetheart¸ gives me the same version of events but tells me they used vinegar cloth to stop the bleeding, which, Alhamdulilah helped.

Saafiyah says nothing, she is not speaking at all. She got the biggest fright and according to my dad just started crying the moment it happened. She cried so much, that my parents thought she was the one that got hurt.

With everyone trying to tell me their version of the events, Uthmaan is in my arms and I am just holding him. (Best feeling ever when you know you can comfort your child).

While he is in my arms, I look at his head and can’t really see where the blood was coming from. When I look closer at his head, it’s a small (size of the tip of a knife) wound he has in his head. You can hardly see it.

I must decide if I take him to the hospital for a check-up. My dad calls the family Dr to find out, to be honest, I do not feel like going to a hospital on a Friday. He says he must just be monitored, if I feel that something is not right, I must take him to the hospital. Thank goodness his vaccinations are all up to date as well, coz that means he does not have to go for a tetanus shot.

I leave my parents home and on our way home, Ebrahim is stilling chatting about how it all happened and that he needs to tell Mamoe (my eldest brother) he must fix it because his Uthmaan got hurt. Uthmaan finally starts to talk and tells me that he knocked his head and it is sore. At home, once Ahmed has arrived from work, I explain what happened, Ebrahim explains his version and Uthmaan just keeps repeating I knocked my head and its sore. We give him some Panado syrup and bath him in saltwater. One would think it would burn and he would scream, he didn’t even flinch, maybe coz I was dancing and singing while he was in the bath.

Alhamdulilah, he slept fine that Friday night……

The Saturday we did our normal routine and went to my parents.  It was my dad birthday and we were going to braai for supper. After supper Uthmaan is talking to us (sitting on a chair at the table) and the next thing we realise he is on the floor… he had fallen off the chair and knocked his head again.

You might be thinking this child falls a lot, yes, he does he is just one of those kids that will have loads of battles wounds.

Side note: We’ve had him at the Dr before to be checked out because were we worried that it is not normal for a child to fall this often. Dr Sinclair did the normal tests (checked his ears, eyes and watched him walk). Uthmaan’s left femur (thighbone) was curved, which meant he was off balance on his feet. Dr Sinclair proposed that I massage the legs coz at this age the bones are still very flexible and can be manipulated back into position. Which is what I did and Alhamdulilah it is much better. 

Uthmaan and Imaan are the accident-prone kids in our family, we’ve either been through it all or say to ourselves “what next”.

Till next time In Sha Allah.

As- salaam

Ayesha