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Friday, October 26, 2007

Ode to the Emergency Room

Let me start off by saying HE IS FINE. Then let me commence by saying I HATE HOSPITALS SO MUCH!!!

So, Finn managed to pull a computer monitor onto himself, and pin himself to the floor with it. It was already on the floor, and did not fall on to him so I have no idea how he managed this, and if I hadn't been 12 inches away when it happened, I wouldn't have believed it. It was one of those old, heavy models.

Anyway, there was a loud crash, and a louder scream, and I had to pull the monitor off of him to comfort him. Once I settled him down, I began to palpate the areas I though to be hurt (his collar bone, right arm, rib cage, and thoracic spine). This did not impress him, and he wailed anew. He was also holding his right arm limply up like an injured paw. I was also concerned with how hard he hit his head.

So, like any sane, rational person, I panicked. I called Meva (bless her), our friend who is a PA and works only a few miles from here, and got her answering service. I then called at home to see if she was there, and find out if she was still in the office so I could barge in after hours. She was unavailable, so I talked to Chuck (bless him, too). In a nutshell, he said forget Meva, and go to the ER, since she will probably just tell you to go there herself.

Well, I hate hospitals, so I had one more thing to try, and I called my local Chiropractor to see if he could shoot an X-ray to check for green-stick fractures, or other trauma. They all but laughed and told me to go to the ER. I made a quick call to Tom, and was out the door in less than 10 minutes.

Four minutes later I was at the ER, and Finn was getting lethargic, and very sedate. NOT a good sign when dealing with head injuries. We were taken back immediately and lynched by four doctors, two nurses, and several other support people in a matter of 10 minutes. I later found out that St. James is a Level 1 trauma center, and they're good at trauma. Well, Finn was a trauma case, but he was also evaluated by Peds, radiology, and a few others-- can't wait to get all those bills!! LOL!

In less than a half an hour they told me his films were clear, and we were to be watched for signs of a bad head injury, and then released. Except then a school bus hit a car, which pushed it into an intersection, causing more cars to crash, and they were all sent to the local trauma center-- which is where we were. Needless to say an hour of observation quickly became 5, and Finn was tugging at his monitors, chewing his blood pressure cuff, and fighting me tooth and nail to get into all the neat 'stuff' they have there.

All in all, the hospital was good but slow, and I had a very stressful day. I hope I never have to pull anything off of my son again. What a nightmare, but at least he is okay now. While at St James I saw the man who told me I was pregnant with Finn (Larry), and also encountered the bitchy nurse who was so rude to me when I left AMA because I already had home care and didn't need to be admitted for an IV. Larry was still nice, and that bitchy woman is still a super bitch. I thought she was just mean because I wasn't following orders. Apparently, she's just always like that. I'd hate to be her.

Anyway, Finn is sound asleep, dreaming his day away, and I think I hear a glass of wine calling my name...

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