Griffin had a bike accident yesterday

We went to visit friends yesterday afternoon and took Quinn's new bike along so he could show it off and ride with his friend. We didn't take Griffin's bike as the family has 2 smaller bikes already one almost exactly like Griffin's...

So we left them to ride on the hill (a cul de sac). They were riding and skate boarding up and down it. 5 minutes later Richard comes in carrying Griffin and saying there'd been an accident....

Apparently Griffin got on the bike, went down the hill sort of unintentionally, couldn't stop, got a speed wobble and fell right on his face

I asked him why he didn't brake!? He said cos there's no brakes! Then I remembered the bike was just like his except it has pedal-back brakes not normal hand brakes.

It looks damn sore and has really swollen up!

He has been so stoic and brave about the whole thing too, which breaks my heart even more.

This was 15 minutes after it happened.


Then after eating


This was after 3-4 hours! Yikes!


This morning he looks like this!

He insists it feels ok and his head and bones aren't sore it's just the skin of his cheek.

We did put an ice bag on it straight away and gave him Arnica tablets.

He is so brave though. He told me not to worry he'll be fine in bed last night, he'll just sleep facing the wall (on his uninjured cheek). Why is it that their bravery is more heart wrenching?

Poor baby

Update at 17:00 Sunday:
Here he is more than 24 hours afterwards. The swelling is starting to subside, so he can see out the eye again, but now the bruising is setting in, and I expect it will get worse.

Update second morning:
The swelling is down more this morning, and the bruising is going black. If there was a break it would be more painful now not less, so I know he is basically ok. Facial injuries do swell and bruise terribly, and if you break skin they bleed profusely too. So often they look way worse than they are. If his eye was blood-shot at all I would have been very worried, but it's completely normal and white and he can see fine, he didn't get a headache or anything.

I gave him the option to stay home today, and he thought about it for a long time and then decided he would stay at home. He will go to school tomorrow. I am a bit worried that one of the kids will bump or elbow him inadvertently though, as I am sure THAT will hurt like hell.

Update second night:
Here he is on the second evening. It's actually looking more horrific, but it is starting to heal now. The swelling is subsiding, and the bruising is really setting in. We took him to the chemist when we went to get more Arnica cream and tablets and they were not too concerned and agreed that it would heal without medical intervention.

Update 3rd night:
He is definitely healing now. The Arnica really seems to help. He is thrilled that his eye can open properly again. He'll be back to school tomorrow.