Okay, if you have kids chances are you have landed yourself in the Emergency Room. Before Joshua it was a "rare" event.
I vividly remember the first time we made the scary trip to the ER. Elizabeth was sitting in our study playing on the floor with some pretty rocks. She must have been less than 20 months (I was still pregnant). I looked over and she was choking! I couldn't see the rock and assumed that was in her mouth. I put her in the car and off we went. They took her into x-ray and I stayed in the hallway. The doctor finally came into the room and said that she had indeed swallowed something - but it was TWO SCREWS. She had picked up the small little screws from the computer and down they went! I didn't like what the doc said next - you guessed it! - I had to "retreive them" from the other end to make sure they passed through. Lovely! Let's see Elizabeth also managed to put scissors in her eye, but luckily it scratched the top part of her lid, not the eyeball. And our most recent Elizabeth ER trip was in Des Moines for staph! Whew!
Joshua's are always breathing related. I don't even know what he is up to now - 10 or more I'd say. Twice by ambulance. I actually know some of the staff now in the ER at TCH. That is never a good thing!
Bekah has been a little more mild. Her first and only ER run was for "nurse maid elbow". That has been the only time we walked in, they fixed the problem, and we walked out! Once they popped it back into place she was a "new little girl".
SO, what are your ER experiences?? I'm sure we have some stories out there! I shouldn't have said "funny".... I meant "interesting" or "hair raising" stories.
Blessings, Olivia
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5 comments:
hmm let's see....
Kyle has been 4 times, Megan once and Keith (hubby) once. Not really funny or fun expereinces. Well all but one of the ER trips were after hours of course.
1. Kyle went at age 2 for stitches in the side of his head. He was playing in a tall laundry basket and fell, hitting his head on the corner of the wall.
2. Then when he was 4 or 5 he must have fallen out of bed at 1 AM and hit his forehead on his bookshelf, still not sure. I heard horrible crying coming from the bathroom. It was dark and he didn't even know what was going on. I turned the light on and it looked like a bloodbath. There was a trail of blood from his room to the bathroom. Hmm that was kind of gross, sorry. Keith took him to the ER, while I cleaned up. I hadjust gotten Megan to sleep at midnight that night.
3. He went after he had his tonsils out. I think it was day 5 or so and I could not get his fever down. It was almost 105, after Tylenol/Motrin and a tempt bath. Again this was in the middle of the night. When we finally got in to a room his fever was only 100! He was slightly dehydrated. Home we went.
4. This was after his first heart cath. He complained about his chest hurting. His cardilogist sent us the ER, because it would take days/weeks to schedule an angiograph, this was the fastest way. Fast HA! We got there at 11 am and left at 8:30 PM! It was a long, exhausting trip. NO nurse could find a vein in his right arm. And it had to be in his right arm for the angiograph. He was brave for a short time. I almost passed out. All in all things looked good though.
Megan went when she was 16 months old for a twisted fracture of her leg. Her and Kyle were playing and he fell on top of her leg and she tried to get from under him. However, the ER said it wasn't broken, but the orthopedic surgeon the next day said it was, but not bad enough to cast.
I hope to not go back again, haha.
Angela
We have had several trips to the ER...Riley went twice as a baby for splitting his frenulum in his mouth. I have passed 11 kidney stones so I have been for that. Generally those trips aren't funny but just take FOREVER!
Let's see...Miles...he has been alot. We have gone 4 times by ambulance and for one trip once we got to the hospital we went by helicopter to another hospital (that was scary). He has had a bunch of visits when we just walked in. I have found that when you say 'he is a little more blue than usual' you get right back! But that hasn't been since he was a baby.
We've been 3 times (both with my girls) and I must say that they haven't been that much fun!
First, with Hannah (she was 3 mos. old) and had a fever of 106. Sooo, they did the standard blood cultures, spinal tap, and urine cath...lovely, and after two hours and countless nurses were able to get an IV in...I'm a NICU nurse, so this was pretty tramatic (even for me!! :) ). By the way, she had a kidney infection...
Second, Hannah AGAIN. This time she was 3 and presenting with symptoms of appendicitis -- did the work up -- including urine sample... I thought that they were joking (at 2 AM) when they wanted me to take her into the bathroom and have her pee in a cup... it was like having to have the right "password" (e.g. "open sesame") in order for her to pee in the cup... After what seemed like several frustrating minutes, I eventually yelled, "Hannah, Go Potty!" and she did. End of story. (By the way -- it was a bladder infection)...
Lastly, Olivia -- a pretty tough day when you're diagnosed with a heart defect (TGA)... presented at home and took her to ER -- after waiting in waiting room (yes, can you believe it?) -- found her sats to be 60's, then 40's, then 30's (about that time she was intubated and had a PGE drip going)... A very "trying" day -- but in all of this we experienced a very touching moment (one that I will never forget). Shortly after I got her diagnosis and they were getting ready to intubate Olivia, I was sent out to the waiting room. I'm sure that you can imagine how devastated I was feeling -- and angry at God. I was literally falling to pieces on the ER waiting room floor, when a woman (whose boy was across the curtain from Olivia) came over to me and said, "I wanted you to know that I've heard what is going on with your precious baby. I am so sorry and wanted to let you know that I am praying for you right now. I'm praying for God's peace for you and that he will heal her little body. He is in control." Wow -- I can't remember her face at all, but can still hear her voice. I can only imagine the courage that it took to be obedient to HIM and come over to a complete stranger. I really felt like she was my guardian angel that day in the ER. I pray that we are that obedient when we hear that inner voice inside of us, telling us to do something that may be difficult to do! Amen!
Kristin
I believe one visit per child so far. Except Ben (knock on wood!)
My oldest son it was for pneumonia. It was during a horrible storm and we were visiting family and the power was out at the house. It was SO cold. My Dad ended up taking us all the way back home that night (over 2 hours one way) and turned around and drove right back to his house.
My daughter cut her leg open on a piece of glass that I broke! I missed the piece and she kneeled down in the toy "area" right on it and split it open. I felt so bad. Ironically I broke the glass playing ball in the house...exactly what they are told not to do. (remember that Brady Bunch episode?)
Gabriel I took this past winter when his fever spiked to nearly 104 and he was vomiting. He had been sick for a couple of days and I just couldn't take it any longer. I was six months pregnant at the time and I was just praying that I wouldn't get sick too in that waiting room. I had just gotten over morning sickness. I was upset at my husband for not going with us or taking Gabriel himself.
Poor little guy threw up all over me and him in the ER. A little girl near us was dry heaving because of it.
It took 3 hours before we got a room to be examined. We were just waiting in the halls after they admitted us. We were gone from 1:30am until 7am in the morning.
He ended up having an ear infection, eye infection and a bad flu.
On a plus side I got to see many different "characters" in the ER. Some people are just wild!
Pam Camit
Wow, Emergency Room visits! We are blessed because our children are healthy and our visits are not usually for life altering events (save one). We have had a myriad of them, so we have been checked out by CPS which found we just have crazy/adventurous or clumsy kids. I thank God that He has kept them safe!!
Myself:
1. A full body break out of hives – still don’t know what they were.
2. I was helping Katelyn and Zachariah do a craft project on the floor when I had a terrible back spasm during pregnancy causing my back to lock up. I couldn’t move and was in immense pain. Ashley stopped moving and so Zachariah got the phone and we called 911. The ambulance came and off we went. I was given a muscle relaxer type thing and everyone was back to normal – some freaky thing.
3. A rush to the emergency room with complications to Katelyn’s pregnancy (our oldest): We were celebrating our 1st anniversary and the 3 month plateau of pregnancy (that magical date that really doesn’t exist) when I had a knife cutting pain in my abdomen. I needed to breathe through it for about 30 seconds. Not being pregnant long and no one else I knew was either, so I said, “that was weird and if that happens again, we are calling the doctor.” We continued our lunch and made it back home when I discovered blood everywhere. David flew to Texas Women’s in about 15 minutes instead of the usual 35-45 minutes. He kept saying, “Where is a cop when you need one!” Anyway, my placenta was torn in half and I’d be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. They were concerned about Katelyn but she was a 8 lb. 4 oz. bundle of rolls! She is now 9 years old and a thriving young lady.
David:
1. For an abdominal issue that I will not expound on.
Ashley:
1. A fall in the bathtub: All three kids were bathing in our master tub and she decided to jump up and down. We had told her not to do that but when you are 18 months old you need to make sure. As she says, “I sipped a bathtub, hurt my chin!” Sure enough, we ended up at Texas Children’s for an exciting evening of waiting. They were able to use the “blue glue” to fix her up and after applying vitamin’s to the area for a year, she should be scar free for prom.
2. Head injury: Our church is using three separate venues until our sanctuary is complete and we stack up 10 chairs. We’ll my sweet but wild adventurous one, tripped in the right spot and slammed into the legs of the chairs. She immediately had a bruise and lump. We didn’t think much of it until we couldn’t wake her easily from the car when we got home. After doctor’s instructions, I headed to Texas Children’s. She had in fact a slight skull fracture and would need to be monitored overnight. She still has a red line where the injury occurred and they believe it will diminish over time. No permanent brain damage.
Katelyn:
1. Again, at church with the head injuries: We were having lunch in our Sunday school class and somehow she was pulling a chair to another table. We still don’t know how it happened but she fell and the chair fell on top of her. We have tried to reenact it and can’t seem to figure how she ended up with a 3 inch laceration on the top of her head. Off to Texas Children’s. They were able to repair it by shaving a small amount of hair (important for even a 5 year old) and 5 staples.
2. More staples: Katelyn stapled her finger instead of the paper but this time it went into the finger tip bone. Yes, an average household stapler went into bone. She wouldn’t let us touch it and so off I went with for a memorable x-ray and staple pulling event.
Zachariah:
1. Non-visit with fall from the banister: Surprisingly enough, when Zachariah chose to bungee jump off the banister (23 feet in the air) to the hard wood floor below it was a miracle he wasn’t killed or had permanent injuries. He was 4 and didn’t know what he was doing other than wanting to recreate a rescue from Shrek. Needless to say, I believe Jesus caught him for the angels wouldn’t have been fast enough! The doctors didn’t believe he needed to be seen so off to the bus we went to pick up Katelyn from Kindergarten.
2. Allergy to Benadryl: He was about 2. The doctor had prescribed Benadryl for a series of bee stings. He needed to take it for 3 days, 3 times a day. I had given him his 9th dose and put him to bed. When David went to tuck him in, he was hallucinating. Off to Texas Children’s I went. His hallucinations grew worse. He was cheering on the valet cars as if they were horses saying, “go horses go” and he pounded on the window. He licked the arm rests saying they were ice cream cones. He beat me on my chest saying, “you’re not my mommy, where is my mommy.” He would lay down for a while and then suddenly jump up and dive off the bed. I had to be ready to catch him mid flight. He was constantly being chased or seeing big bugs. To compound issues, David was currently unemployed and so we didn’t have insurance. I believe everyone (medical staff and other parents) thought he had gotten into some of my heroin. I don’t do drugs and hate taking Tylenol but with the combination of his behavior and not having insurance led them to call in CPS. The investigator was very nice and got a kick out of the whole situation. Looking back, it really was funny but not when you’re living it.
3. Eye injury: Goofing around by standing on a small table in their room. He wasn’t able to keep his surfing balance and fell off causing his eye to meet the corner of the table. Not a good combination. They were able to repair it with the “blue glue” which is actually purple.
4. Head at YMCA: It was Memorial Day and everyone was at the YMCA outdoor pool. When we arrived there were close to 400 people using the pool and had been all day. It was about 3 p.m. and we had two hours of swimming ahead. I was helping to get Ashley’s swim diapers on (she was 6 months old). Zachariah was 5 and as he went down the little slide in the pool, there was dirt running down his cheek. I said to myself, “wow, he’s dirty. He needs another bath.” Well, he came by again and sure enough, more dirt. That was a little too much to ignore. After an inspection, he had run into a hexagonal screw head (which we still haven’t located in 3 years) and it created an indention in his head. I’ve never seen anything like it – a perfect bolt shape in someone’s skin. Off to sit forever at the ER on a holiday. Suggestion to everyone, don’t get hurt on a holiday! After x-rays and 3 staples, they sent us home to watch for concussion. We had a memorable Memorial Day, just not the memory we had planned.
5. Knee with Garage sale: Somehow he tripped and fell at the right angle for a piece of metal laying 3 inches above the ground to go into his knee. It was a freaky accident. He needed 3 internal stitches and 5 external ones. He still has a lovely scar.
6. Unknown Diagnosis: This is the scariest of all our visits because it put him in the hospital for 11 days. He was in Kindergarten and had an ingrown finger nail which we had been doctoring with medication. It healed just fine. The following week, he wasn’t feeling well. He complained that his throat hurt and so we had a strep culture done which came back negative. They said to watch him and wait. The culture must not be active enough to get a good test result. So, we went home to doctor for a week. He just didn’t look right. As you can see from above, he is a very adventurous/high energy kid and now he was lying on the couch and sleeping a lot. He was able to go to school but would crash from exhaustion when he got home. On Saturday night, he kept saying his throat hurt and his tonsils were a little swollen. So, we planned on calling his doctor in the morning to get some antibiotics for tonsillitis and would go see him Monday morning. David went to church and I let the kids sleep in late that morning and miss church. Zachariah woke up at about 9 with a lime size bump on the side of his neck. It wasn’t supposed to be there and wasn’t tonsillitis related. So, after a call to David that I’d be bringing up the girls and would need to take him to Texas Children’s off we went. He was looking very ill. As a mom, you just have that knowledge that this one is bad. The medical staff was ready for us when we arrived but had no idea what was wrong. He had every test done in the ER: blood work, x-ray, ultrasound, CAT scan and exam after exam. They admitted us at about 3 a.m. and had given me a list of possibilities, none of which looked good. He was taken to the oncology ward, which scared me to my knees. By now his small lime was the size of a small pineapple and his head was being pulled to the side. He had a hard time moving. He was one sick little man. We prayed and prayed. The doctors continued their tests and informed me on Wednesday that if they couldn’t figure out what it was, he might not live until Friday and that I needed to call in a minister. I was devastated but God was in control. He gave me a strength I’ve never felt before. It was as if He carried me through and gave me clear insight as to how to help. They finally started Staph infection treatments. Since there are so many vassals in the neck/head area they weren’t able to do exploratory surgery so everything was a guess. They ultimately believed he had a unusual form of staph that eats away at the healthy tissue. The antibiotics began working and 11 days after arriving at the ER we were home! He missed 21 days of school and has had no long term issues. They believe that he acquired the infection in his finger and it took over 2 weeks to move to his throat and grow enough for us to see it. The infection grew to surround his throat, infiltrate into his spinal canal, down into his chest and up into his skull. They were amazed he recovered so quickly and has had no issues from the lost good tissue. I know that it is because of my God who is in the business of healing!!
Well, these are my ER stories. Wow, it looks so overwhelming now that they are all written out but God has granted wisdom, peace and healing in all of them. I am so thankful and so blessed!!
Blessings and love,
Kristen Young
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