Vicissitudes » ER

Emergency Room Again

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:58:19 +0000

Last Friday while eating dinner Riley came to me and said; “The light-truck is in my belly”. WHAT!? I had no idea what he was trying to say (repressing what I really did know). I asked him to get the truck he was talking about. He rummages through the mass of toys and bring over a large Matchbox type truck with one headlight missing. I asked him; “Where is the light Riley?”, “In my belly papa, I’m sorry”, he replies. This happened at 7:05pm. He said he did it during nap which was between 2pm and 5pm.

After calling his doctor’s after hours line three times I finally get a callback (one and a half hours later!). They suggested to take him in for X-Rays. I was too late to take him to the immediate care place so downtown we went to Children’s hospital, again!

When we arrived the place was packed! Three hours later there was us and another … family left in the waiting room. Getting to talk to the doctor she told us that there was no way the light would show up on an X-Ray (I ripped off the other light from the truck to show them the size and shape). Told me to look for blood or pain and sent us away. I thought that was what triage was for!?

He is fine and and no signs of blood or pain. His doctor saw him this Monday too and was not worried at all.

A night out at the Emergency Room

admin — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 04:03:47 +0000

Last Friday Riley wanted a little extra attention so in the way he knows best he demands it with another issue for us to deal with. He’s a great kid but after two days of wheezing and a quick call to his Doctor’s after hours line we were off to Children’s Hospital. As usual, we waited forever! Finally, we were able to see an intern who first said he had the croup. Knowing better we insisted on getting the RSV test. Sure enough it was positive. He got a steroid and instructions on the nebulizer again.

Today he is doing fine. He always has a great positive outlook on everything! Through the entire night there (from 10pm to about 1am) he was happy and playing, having fun with everything.

Bronchiolitis – RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus)

admin — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 01:27:44 +0000

It never seems to stop. My son started coughing the other evening nothing serious so I did not think much of it until I noticed a bit of a wheeze and the coughing becoming more frequent.

Several months ago, his doctor tried to get him a series of shots call synergy (or something). These are expensive shots to prevent the RSV from hitting or at least hitting too hard since this could be a very serious condition. The insurance did not approve the shots.

Just our luck, when all was turning around he gets it. I was ready to take him to the ER (or ED whatever it is call now). Trying not to panic I called his doctor who was not very worried even considering my son’s medical history. To me, he sounds like an old man who smoked his whole life hacking away bring up some disgusting piece of lung, combined with the worst asthma you can imagine.

I took him to see the doctor yesterday (the following morning). Yes, my son’s doctor does make special visits on Sunday’s (any good doctor would). After a quick look he said it is RSV and gave a nebulizer treatment. After, you would not believe the difference. He sounded and looked great. He said to keep an eye on him but he should be fine.

We had a surgerical appointment scheduled for this morning. Knowing how careful they are with our son we again expected him to be admitted to the hospital. But no, they made nothing of it. “Yes, he has the RSV.” That was about all we got from them. You might be thinking I am complaining that nobody is helping my son but I am not. It seems that while this could be rather serious, for the most part it is not as bad as a parent might think. Now I have to write a disclaimer so nobody takes this post as medical advise.

Well we have about three or four more days of wheezing and nebulizer treatments and thirteen or so for the coughing. This will push off his surgery about two weeks. Not much, we can do except ride out the virus.

Disclaimer: Do not take any part of this post as medical advise. Always consult your doctor if you or your child looks, feels, or acts sick. NEVER TAKE A CHANCE!

The Miracle – Why Take This Away?

admin — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 03:26:50 +0000

Five days after his discharge from the NICU my son had what we considered a normal day. Nurse visit went less than perfect, but his 5:00 feeding he was not interested. I tried at 6:00 with a bottle when I got home from work with no luck. I decided to call the nurse who explained it is not uncommon for an infant to skip a feeding after a hard day. 8:00 came and still nothing so I called the doctor. While waiting for a return call my panic set in. I went though the roof when I picked him up and he was completely limp. CPR training kicked in, color was good but I “flicked” his ankle anyway. He started crying! We decided to take him to the emergency room at that point. My wife packed him up in his car seat as I was walking to the doctor. I spent a long night in the ER with him going through many x-rays. Finally, the next morning they found he had an obstruction in his small intestines. They scheduled surgery for thirty minutes later. The feeling of helplessness I had when I handed my little boy over to the nurse and watching her take him away will never leave my heart. Then came the long two hour wait for the word of how the surgery went.