September 14, 2009

How to get in & out of your local ER in record time: An Essay

By FarmWife

Take in a nearly 5 year old boy with a head injury & vomiting.

The End.

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OK, so that's not all of the story, but it works.

B.B. & his dad were playing chase at the playground yesterday afternoon. B.B. turned to see where his dad was & ran, full tilt, into a giant pole. He started screaming & crying that his knee hurt; he never mentioned his head. We got him calmed down & I checked his head only to find a big bruise coming up on his right temple. Husband & I packed up the FarmHands & headed to Wal-Mart to pick up some milk & B.B.'s birthday presents. It was around 2 o'clock.

He was a bit whiny until we hit the toy aisle, then he was his old self again, so I didn't worry too much about the knot on his head. He's a boy. They're always covered in knots, bumps, bruises, and scrapes.

He napped in the van on the way home, but so did his brother & baby sister. Once home, he got whiny again & was pretty tired. I gave him a bath, tucked him in on the couch to watch a movie, and put a bag of frozen peas on his head. Around 4:30-4:45 he took a nap. I woke him up at 5:30 to check on him, then let him go back to sleep. At 6 I woke him up for the evening. He was still whiny & cantankerous & a bit spacey, but not too bad.

At 7:25, he got up from the dinner table (where he hadn't eaten a thing), walked across the kitchen & threw up. 10 minutes later I was in the van with him on the way to the ER.

At the ER, we waited 5 minutes to get to the front desk to to paper work instead of the 20-30 minutes I was anticipating. They skipped us straight to a room (do not pass Triage, do not collect $200) before I'd even had a chance to sign away our rights to our first born (as per most hospitals policies). The nurse was still in taking B.B.'s vitals & checking him out when the doctor came in.

After a brief, but thorough exam, B.B. was declared fit as a slightly bruised fiddle, I was given instructions on treating head wounds, and we were sent on our way. A quick trip to the McDonalds Drive-thru for the necessary Happy Meal, and we were on our way home.

We left home around 7:35 & got back at 9:15. After figuring in 30 minutes worth of driving & the trip to Micky D's, that was, hands down, the fastest trip to the ER we've ever made.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i'm glad he'll be okay..you guys are in my thoughts and prayers

Kork said...

YIKES! Sounds like he gave himself a little concussion...poor fella!

Hoping he didn't end up vomiting the night away, and that he's feeling much better today!

Head wounds, chest pains, and labor always get you jumped to the front of the line...that or tell someone you're passing blood in your urine...or, you can just get your 6'3", 250 pound husband to drop like a stone to the bottom of a pond...that works too...

UGH! Here's hoping there are no more ER visits in your near future!!!