In the middle of a game of toss during our after-church socializing today in the sunroom, Sullivan sent a Nerf football upon onto the valance, knocking the 3.2-lb. porthole Carla got from her dad down and onto my head, edge first. It opened a quarter-inch-wide gash in the crown of my head. It hurt like you’d expect such a wound to hurt, and I walked out of the room for some privacy, but Carla and the Rookes stopped me because I was bleeding profusely.

Long story short, Matt took me to the hospital and chatted happily with me while we waited for the parade of health professionals to come through my ER room. A medical student named Alex was the one to put the six staples in. He put in at least one too many because of what he claimed was some inaccuracy in the stapler.

It felt good to be the center of attention. But more precisely, it felt good to be personally helped in a time of need. Over the course of the episode, Carla put my socks on and cleaned my bloody head in the shower after I returned from the hospital, Lara fetched towels for the blood, Sullivan gave me a hug, Janet examined my head to make the professional recommendation that I visit the ER, the medical professionals took good care of me, and Matt was a friend. He wished me “blessings” as we parted ways three hours after the incident, and I replied, “I have one! It’s you!”

If I’m ever in need of care and in pain that goes beyond a ‘2’ on the pain chart, I hope I’m a kind sick person to the people caring for me.