Thursday, March 24, 2011

Scary Day

Earlier today we had a big scare. As you know, John works the overnight so he was still sleeping at 11am and I had sort of dozed off as well. *sheepish grin* Anyway, his phone rang and we both about jumped out of our skins. It was the school. Sean had gotten hurt playing kickball. They had no more information as they were still out on the playground with him. Needless to say we rushed down the stairs, out to the car and over to the school. John realized he was doing 70 in a 40 and quickly slowed down. He was definitely not thinking with that one. When we got to the neighborhood we were watching as we drove down the street. No fire truck, that's a good thing. Then we came around the corner and there he was being pushed in a wheelchair by the nurse and accompanied by the principal. Needless to say that was SCARY. It is not a good feeling to see your child in a wheelchair when he isn't a wheelchair user. So we parked in the Employee of the Month spot which was the closest one and ran into the school. They were by his classroom at that point. His best friend was giving him a card and another boy was carrying his backpack--we left the violin there, oops. Between the nurse and Sean we gathered that he had gone to kick the ball and missed. It went under his foot and he went down backwards on the right side of his butt and rolled onto his right arm but did NOT hit his head. The nurse and principal came out to the car with us and helped us load him in. First time he ever rode in the front seat and he didn't even set up a squawk. Then we had to stop back by home because stupid me didn't bring my backpack so I didn't have my wallet with his medical card in it--I had my ID with me but not the medical card. So finally we were on our way to St. Joseph's.

John dropped us at the door and he got out and hobbled in leaning against me. We didn't even have to wait. They saw us coming in and ushered us right back to triage but then when John came in they wouldn't let him come in. They said only one parent in triage. Immediately after finishing triage they took us back to a room (well, curtained section #50 which is grandiosely referred to as a room) and John was able to come with us as well. The doctor was right in too. It was really rather surreal how quickly he got seen. I've been in much worse shape and waited hours. Found out later they had "fast-tracked" him. Don't know why. Anyway, the doctor asked him what had happened and was treated to the WHOLE story beginning with the canned food drive all the way up through the point where he got hurt. She manipulated his arm and wrist and it seemed fine, just a little bit sore. Then she asked him to take his pants down to his knees but he could leave his underwear on. He got a little embarrassed and I had to tell him, "Don't worry. We've seen you and she's seen thousands of 'em." LOL No pain in the spinal area at all, praise God, just soreness to the right side of his cheek. After she finished they came with the paperwork and then the nurse came with Motrin for him. We thought we were going to have an issue with that because it was the liquid stuff and Sean does NOT do liquid medicine. He made a face but took it like a man when he found out he was allowed to have a water chaser to get the nasty taste out of his mouth. Then the doctor came back about 10 minutes or so later to make sure he was still okay and she was going to release him. However, his wrist decided to hurt really badly at that point and he told her so she ordered an x-ray. We thought we were in for a long wait then because we had heard them talking that x-ray and CT were backed up--we've spent a lot of time in hospitals over the years so we've learned what to listen for. That's when we found out that he had been fast-tracked because they called it over the intercom or whatever it's called. He went back to x-ray and John went with him. They came back and said it looked good. Apparently it was some sort of digital x-ray so they didn't have to wait for it like we're used to. After he got back the nurse gave him a sling and then we just had to wait until the doctor came back to check him and release him. Then we had to wait in the hallway and flag somebody down since we couldn't get out the door and there was nobody in the discharge room. All in all we were there just a little over two hours which is a new ER record, I think. On the way home we asked him which team won the kickball game and he said, "I'm not really sure. It came to a rather abrupt end." LOL

He's doing fine now. His back (butt really) is a bit sore but I can't give him more Motrin until around 6pm and that's a little over a half hour from now. His arm hurts when he tries to do stuff with it but he's got the sling on it and he's already figured out how to use the mouse left-handed so it's all good.

John is the one I'm concerned about at this point. He didn't get home from work until after 5am, slept until 7:30, spent a half hour with Sean while he was getting ready for school (standard morning procedure), went back to sleep when we left and then got woken up by the phone. When we got home after we ate he tried to doze for a little bit but wasn't really successful. So he's now at work overnight on only a few hours sleep. This is a concern because he drives over 200 miles every night.

Sean will be staying home from school tomorrow. We were going to be pulling him out at lunchtime anyway since he already had a doctor's appointment scheduled regarding his nosebleeds. This is perfect actually because we'll be able to follow up on what happened today as well.

That's the excitement in our corner of the world. So much for the calmness I reported the other day. *grin* I hope everybody has had a good week and will have a good weekend.

8 comments:

Karen said...

So sorry you had such a scare. It is nice to be seen quickly but NOT particularly reassuring! Very glad Sean is OK, but expect him to be sore in the morning! Be ready with the Motrin, the poor kid. He will get double the attention on Monday though after leaving school on Thursday and not returning on Friday. Imagine the rumors! John will be OK...a tough night for him but hopefully adrenaline will see him through!

Karen

Wilma said...

Thanks, Karen! You are SO right about it not being reassuring when they rush your child right back. It makes you wonder if they think he's really in a bad way. :( They know at school that he's okay because John called the school and Miss Chalita made an announcement to his classroom--with our permission. I also told Lawrence that we would give him a call later tonight. I know John will be okay. I just don't like him out there with so little sleep.

Karen said...

Well, I'll keep him in my prayers, just like Carolyne! I'm off to bed, a marathon day yesterday and a busy on today, preparing to go away tomorrow. Can't wait, but will miss my gang anyway! Have a good weekend, hope Sean feels better soon and John gets through his rough night. Parenting ain't easy!

Karen

Wilma said...

Thanks! Sean is on the phone with Lawrence and has been for about an hour and a half. I told him he could talk as long as he wanted and he warned me it could be a long time because when they get going........LOL John called earlier. He got started over a half hour late because he had to wait for his vehicle and then he had to take the county supervisor over to the office since he was using his vehicle--which isn't kosher since John is city but that's their worry, right. And just to make the night interesting he got his first alarm call since he's been on this crazy shift. The other driver has had several but John hasn't. That should be good for some overtime as well since it will throw him behind. :( You are definitely right. Parenting isn't easy and it definitely isn't for the faint of heart. I swear if we knew what we were in for our species would be extinct. haha

Have a great weekend. Talk to you soon.

Katie said...

Thank goodness the schooled called y'all. When I was in 4rth grade I fell and broke my ankle at school and they didnt even call my parents to let them know that I was even hurt. Hopefully John did okay at work with limited sleep.

Mel said...

How scary! Glad it all worked out though and wasn't worse. It took me back to our recent ER visit for B falling on her head at the pool.

Wilma said...

Oh, Katie, they wouldn't DARE not call the Macks if something happened to Sean. We'd be all over them like a rash. Not only that but John used to work there when Sean was younger so they definitely know better. We are Mama/Papa Bear types when it comes to something happening to our son, believe me.

Wilma said...

Hey, Mel!! How's the move going? I remember when B hit her head. That is so scary. We were very glad he didn't hit his head this time. When he was in 2nd grade he got a giant goose egg on his forehead where he hit a tetherball pole. John still worked there then and was just getting there when they were bringing him in. I don't like emergency rooms either. :(