Grandfather Head Split
When I was 3 years old I experienced the 1st form of physical abuse by the hand of my grandfather Harold Mavelly. I only remember being asked by a nurse while being held in one of the adult's arms if I wanted a butterfly or stitches to which I responded "stitches". You see my grandfather had a short temper and one night when I was to sleep in his and my grandmother's bed, we had three bedrooms for 7 people so we had to share. It was me, my grandmother and grandfather in bed. When it had gotten late enough for my grandfather to demand I go to sleep of course as a 3 year old I refused. He yelled "Put your head on that pillow." I replied "no" so he grabbed the back of my head and attempted to force my face into the pillow. The top part of my head hit the wooden baseboard corner busting my head open bad enough that I had to be taken to the hospital for treatment.
Honestly I don't know if it was on purpose that he pushed my head too far or just an accident driven by meaningless rage at a minor defiance. My parents told the hospital staff I was jumping on the bed. One of many lies my family would tell to avoid consequences. When I asked my sister about this incident in later years she recalled her having to get up in the middle of the night to go to the hospital with the rest of the family, and confirmed it was my grandfather that caused the accident. My brother for some reason believes the lie my parents told him that it was because I was jumping on the bed, not forced into hardwood by a grown adult as a 3-year-old defenseless child.