Never fear, the first aid kit will help!
On a sunny Sunday afternoon, a bunch of children gathered at a softball field for an optional practice to work on their skills. There would softballs a-flying, bats a-swinging and some dirt certainly ended up on my daughter’s right hand. Somewhere between second and third base, a minor fall occurred, so little that there was no dirt on my daughter’s uniform. An innocent landing and quick rebound did not appear serious, but to the slightly tired ballplayer the injury needed a good lookover. When asked if she was okay, the initial reply was I’m fine, but when dirt was discovered on the palm of her hand, my daughter began to cry.
The young player was worried about the wound, but even to the untrained eye, there was no breaking of skin and not a single drop of blood. I rinsed off the dirt to prove there was no cuts and confirmed that a trip to the emergency room was not warranted. Then tears really began to follow as she determined that a bandage needed for it would be the only cure that would get her back on the diamond. The coaches did not have a first aid kit readily available and neither did any of the parents. As I started taking inventory in my mind of what I had in my SUV, it dawned on me that I had a five year old first aid kit. I ran from the dugout to my vehicle and grabbed a self sticking bandage as well as antibiotic cream that expired three Septembers ago. When I made the short trip back to the dugout, I applied the “cream” which was more watery than creamy on the non-injury and placed the giant bandage on. As it was a placebo effect moment and the child with no injury was magically cured.
The young player’s next step was to the batting cage where she hit more softballs than what she had missed and her coach recommended using the bandages to help with her swing more often. There would be more pitches to first base and a couple more races around the bases. To celebrate all the hard work of each player, a trip to the playground was in order after the practice ended early. My daughter joined in the fun and after a few minutes into climbing ladders and riding slides, she decided to part ways with the helpful bandage. The potential practice ending event was over and the crisis was, in fact, diverted!
