Sister Golding vs. The Dog: 4/28/2014

And somehow I always manage to end up here…..

This week you could catch me more often than not with an ice pack to my head.This has triggered this conversation on multiple occasions.

People: What happened to your head?

Me: I got bit by a dog

People: ON YOUR HEAD!!!

Me: Yep. I had to go to the hospital and get 12 staples in my head because it was bleeding

People: but how... how did he get your head. (this seems to be a big hang up for people)

One time this was answered by a young men who thought he was being funny (okay, it was funny. I laughed) and he said it was because I was so short. However, most the time it starts with me sighing and starting the story. So here's what happened

We went over for the billionths time to our recent converts house to read the Book of Mormon, which we do at least four times a week. They have a really nice and cute dog. Prior to this he was my favorite dog of all time. The nicest calmest Red Healer (Heeler? I don't know dogs) I have ever met. Per usual he comes up to greet Sister Wood while I sit in the banana shaped video game chair on the floor. When he's done greeting Sister Wood he comes and rests his head on leg and starts to lick me. As he got closer to my face, i started to push him away, but he kept on coming back. Why do dogs always want to lick your face? That's just disgusting. I figured my chair on the floor wasn't the best place to avoid face lickings, so I start to get up to change chairs. I hear a small yelp and realize I had rocked over his paws. Not all the way standing up I turn to say I am sorry to the dog and something had snapped. He was leaping towards my face. I turn my head and he bites the back of my head and pulls me to the ground. Supposedly I went into fetal position (according to Sister Wood) but all I remember was a series of being scratched and attacked and trying to get up and not being able to because I kept on getting pulled back down. I remember finally rolling up to my feet and holding my head and seeing him with his teeth barred at me and being frozen, not able to do anything. 

I don't remember the next part. That scares me a little. But I guess Sister wood slapped the dog really hard on the rear and he snapped back out of it. Our friend dropped her baby on the couch as fast as possible, but Sister Wood got him first. So she yelled at her dog and kicked him outside. She was crying and felt so bad. She was just as shocked as the rest of us.

The next thing I remember is being led to the red chair. They asked if I was hurt. In my head I said "No! He got my head!" But I suppose I was in too much shock and I was repeating things. So, it came out "the back of my head. The back of my head". They searched through my red hair searching for things... they were about to give up and say I was fine. Then I put my hand to my head where it hurt and as I puled my hand back down it was covered in blood. Once again I thought I said more words then I said, but Sister Wood says that I just repeated the word blood.

They took me in the kitchen to clean up the wound and see how big it was. We put pressure and ice on it. While C. and I were crying, luckily Sister Wood kept her calm and we managed to slow the bleeding and make the right calls to approve a trip to the hospital (Our medical lady told us to go to the PA office first.. they were closed)They only saw a deep inch because they didn't want to touch it, however when the doctors saw it, it was a 3 inch cut.

p.s. My hair looked so good this day up in a bun I could never recreate. Dang it.

One bad thing about living in the middle of nowhere is that it takes a while to get to a hospital. I didn't tell anyone because that would help the situation but I was probably on the verge of passing out. I hid it well just trying to stay calm. Mentally walking through all the possibilities of what might soon happen and none of them ended in death. I'm glad at the moment I thought it was only and inch long because then I could tell myself to quit boobing and calm down.

When we finally made it to the hospital the bleeding had slowed down. I was quite dizzy, but we calmly sat down across from the only lady in the lobby who was on the phone taking her time. When she finally hung up the phone and looked at me with an ice pack to the head she asked "What's wrong with you today?". I explained that I got bit by a dog and drove from Wells with a bleeding head--things moved very quickly after that.

Next thing I know the nurse is in. The doctor comes in 2 minutes or less later and examines. He explains we will have to do staples. The nurse preps the Iodine and Lidocaine. The doctor is back in and the process begins.

I got approximately 40 shot in my head of this stuff that numbed my head. It was so weird. It's like your lips being numb from the dentist but time a million because it's your head. This is part did hurt. Sister Wood videoed the whole process. Most the time I'm smiling and cracking jokes. My one give away was that I was curling my toes and clicking my boots. I only squealed once though. About the same pain as the numbing stuff they put in your mouth for teeth stuff.

Then he was talking and messing around with my head (squeezing out the iodine and realigning my head). Every once and a while he would ask if I felt it. I didn't. Then we were talking and stuff. I hear a few small clicks and it felt like a super super soft pinch on the back of my head. I finally asked "Are you stapling?!?" He was. He had already done about 6 before I noticed. Weird.

Then he told me he had to do two more. He asked, "what's your lucky number" I respond "Twelve. For the twelve apostles". Since both the nurse and the doctor were members they thought I was funny and laughed. He counts my staples. I had ten. He says "Perfect!"

After all was done. Sister Wood thought it was super cool I got staples in my head. Mostly because it is. It's pretty cool. I'm like Frankenstein!

Right before we left the hospital, while waiting for paperwork, and everything was calm C. turned to me and said "Sister Golding! I think your bleeding from your knee!" I look down and there was some blood coming through my skirt. Low and behold I was!

The whole town has known about it. I thought word traveled fast in Wells. We told a few people and the next day I got a few texts from people in the ward and the whole sheriffs department was talking about it. Then we told one person in Ruby Valley. The next Ruby Valley person we called less than 20 minutes later had already heard! So I'm famous. NBD.

FAQ:

How are you doing?

The next day I answered as we went out to do a service project and said "my head hurts but my spirits are high". Then an hour later I crashed on their couch and slept for about 5 hours. when I woke up they asked the question again. I responded "Well... I've definitely been better". For the next couple days my head hurt, then it hurt-itched (like my shingles), I was so tired, I slept a good 32 out of 36 hours between Friday night and saturday, and have been steadily getting better. Yesterday I woke up and I felt FANTASTIC! This wore off but I'm still doing much better than before.

Did they have to shave your head?

I've been mocking scriptures with this one and have responded. When they told me I didn't have to shave part of my head I said "yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost"(Alma 40:23)

Did you get other shots?

No. The rabies shot was up to date on the dog and I got the tetnis shot before the mission

When do you get them out?

Next next Thursday.

Is their anything I can do for you?

Not really. All that can be done I think is already done. I am however suddenly afraid of dogs. Really embarrassing. The other day we went to visit our investigator. His dog was about the same size as the one that attacked me. I opened my door and he was ever so patiently just waiting for me to get out. I realize he's a dog (no duh) and I screamed very high and loud. Then that dog barked back. I have been having a very low tolerance of dogs barking. So just pray for me. You would think about the pain and healing naturally, but include the slight phobia too because there is a lot of dogs here and if you don't love someones dog it's like saying you don't love their baby.

All in all. Again it's been a strange week, but good. It's been amazing seeing how the work of the Lord is not deterred. The lessons that I needed to be awake for I was. When I needed to stay in bed, our appointments cancelled on us first. 

One lady we are working with is praying about a baptismal date and is so so so excited! We met a family we have been trying to get in with for about 4 weeks. This family we have been working with announced last week they wanted to go to the temple and they wanted us to give the temple prep. Missionaries have seen them and have been pushing this for 5 years, but they didn't click with them.

Super tender moment: They told us they would go 6 hours to the Reno temple instead of the 1.5 hours to Twin Falls if that meant we could be there for it (since we aren't allowed to leave the mission). Then as we were planning how long it would take to go through the lessons to prepare them for June, D. told us he doesn't want it to be any other missionaries so we better get it done before the next transfer! Maybe this is sick, but it made us feel pretty dang special.

Other things: we got our haircut on last pday. The lady did it for free--I like being a missionary! However in the same sitting we found out one of our investigators died! He was old and we only saw him once or twice, but still--He died! Crazy.

Preach My gospel Moment: So the next principle after God's love is Families. I use to think this principle was so random. I still kinda think it. it goes God's love->Families->Dispensations.

Anyway. There isn't much on this blurp, but it is so important. It shows that God establishes patterns because he loves us. There are so many ways animals have and treat their offspring. There are many ways God could have put us on the earth, but He couldn't afford to lose any of His children. He wanted to make sure all of us had a support system (even if that's not your natural or immediate family)

I was really touched by one of the comments D. made during our temple prep lesson. We asked why they wanted to go to the temple. After some other comments, d. says "Well... I don't know if this is super wrong or shows a lack of faith, but I'm gonna say it. This is the only church I know of that offers a guarantee that I can be with my family after death through the power of God. Even if we are all wrong, there is no God, and all that's left in the end is a hole in the ground, at least I can die knowing I did everything I could to protect and preserve my family." That just hit me so powerfully. The power of the family and what it means to people.

The great news of lesson 1 is that God has restored HIs power, His authority, and His church on the Earth. But what does that mean to me? How does that affect me? It's just this. It means we can be with our family forever. 

And that's my thought for the week.