So out of all the falls and bumps into walls we contend with on a daily basis I find myself taking Ethan to the ER for a very large and very deep splinter this past week. This on the same day I hear that Abby fell down the stairs...
So, here's the story: as I was preparing dinner Ethan went out onto the deck to have a popsicle. Moments later he comes rushing back in stating he needed a Band Aid. This is very common for him; to come in and place a Band Aid on all bumps and bruises. We keep them down low so he can self doctor himself up. I quickly looked down and see no blood so I figure we are good! Just a stubbed toe! He puts two Band Aids on and moves off to play Wii before we have to leave for PT. I finishing prepping dinner and rush in to get him moving. Then out of the clear blue and says to me "mom you really have to do something about my toe! " Ooookkkkay.... Peel the bandage off and whoa...largest splinter I've ever seen.
I have enough enough time to run, get tweezers and pull this thing out...Nope! Not nudging after 15 minutes while he screamed! This from a kid that normally has a high threshold to pain.
So now it’s decision time. Drive thru rush hour traffic to his normal children's hospital which has all his medical records. The problem is that this is a training hospital so a lot of the time you get some resident that freaks out over his diagnosis and will most likely focus on that instead of just numbing him up and getting the thing out. (By the way I can't take him to a doc in the box due to his insurance and it’s too late in the day for his regular doc). The other option, drive to the closest ER, 6 minutes away, and known as a good ER. This means I will have to establish him as a patient which will require a ton of medical background and I will be educating them the whole time since he doesn't fit in any of their typical boxes. Its always other and a list with explanations. Goodness its just a splinter...decisions!
So I call the house that his older brother ran down to hang out with a friend and ask the mom if he can stay, as I need to run Ethan to the ER...she is well aware of Ethan and says ‘of course!’ (Thanks Rose!) and off we go… to the new and closer hospital.
Of course his intake info takes forever but we end up with a level headed and experienced doc that doesn't even respond to his diagnosis. What, this never happens but I'm thankful. Can he really just be treated as a "regular" kid and not a specimen? Why yes he can!
Ethan is a trooper, gets thru the anesthetic and they incision and remove the splinter. Doc did not make me feel completely foolish for bringing him in for a splinter. Did say we would of never gotten that out and could and most likely gotten infected.
So once in our life a trip to the ER is pretty easy (it was just a splinter) but as we had been admitted for a fever once maybe you can appreciate our appreciation for normalcy for once!
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