A trip to the ER
We had one nightmarish visit to Winchester hospital Emergency Room (Mass)* about six years ago that I vowed never to set foot in an ER again, if we can help it, unless someone is bleeding profusely, needing an ambulance or stitches are required.
Well, that night was Friday.
We were at my sister’s house Friday night for dinner when Tyler, our five-year-old son, fell down on the hardwood floor after attempting to jump off the couch, missing the ottoman and landed flat on his chin. He shrieked painfully and my husband ran to him, as I was holding our 17 month-old Sophia.
My husband exclaimed in horror “we need to get him to the ER, this looks bad!” My heart was in my throat as I rushed over to see Tyler and there it was, an inch cut under his chin exposing his flesh and part of the fat underneath. I did what any mother would do when seeing your child hurt, I screamed!
After gaining composure, I called his pediatrician office and was patched through to the answering service who took our call (since the office was closed), and was told that a doctor-on-call will be calling us back.
We didn’t wait but immediately got in the van and drove to the ER, leaving our other two children along with their three cousins in my sister’s care. I was driving as my husband was holding a paper towel under Tyler’s chin to prevent the bleeding.
The doctor-on-call returned our call and I requested to have a pediatrican available to assist Tyler instead of the ER doctor (this was a result of a horrific experience at the same ER six years ago when there wasn’t a pediatric ER available. That’s one tip I would give you, God forbid if your child ever has to visit the ER). She said no problem and she’ll call the ER to let them know, she understood what I was saying even though I was speaking through choked tears.
The rain has started to downpour making it impossible to see the road, and it didn’t help with tears streaming down my face blurring my vision. If that wasn’t enough, my body was shaking a bit from seeing that deep cut on my precious child.
My husband was trying to console Tyler the best he could in the back seat. He was doing a better job than I was driving in the rain fighting the urge to break down again and also fighting the feeling of guilt. Guilty of denying Tyler snack since he didn’t finish his meal before the accident, and guilty because I couldn’t even console my son without crying my eyes out.
I heard my husband telling Tyler all the stitches he’s received when “I was your age Tyler, and see this on Daddy’s chin, Daddy got this when he was six. I think it’s genetic.” And he went on explaining to Tyler what “genetic” meant. The whole conversation brought calmness to Tyler and a chuckle out of me. I was so impressed with my husband and his ability to remain calm, cool and so very funny.
We arrived at the ER after what seemed like forever (but realistic, it only took about fifteen minutes or so). After gaining back some composure, I held the paper towel and Tyler as my husband went to park the car. We went to register and I had to answer all the basic questions, age, birthdate, etc…and then “what happened to Tyler?” I was doing fine, speaking clearly until that question was asked and then tears happened. I was too choked up to describe the cut and motion with my hand back and forth and pointing to his chin. The lady, apparently has dealth with a lot more trauma than I can imagine, understood and told me that someone will be with us and to have a seat.
Winchester hospital ER has changed drastically from what I remembered six years ago. It was not chaotic, run down ER that I remembered last time. There is a section for “Pediatric waiting area” with toys, coloring books and a TV tuning to the Cartoon Network, and the other area is for the adults, equipped with two TV’s, nicely funished with modern furnitures. There is one lady (I think her name was Holly), I don’t remember her exact title, but her job was to make sure the patients are taken care of in a timely manner and that the children are entertained and put at ease. She was wonderful to say the least!
We were seen by a nurse after waiting for about an hour, that is to be expected regardless of your injuries unless you’re bleeding and near death I think. Tyler was not bleeding profusely and he was sitting comfortably in my lap, remaining very calm and very brave (much better than his shaken-up Mommy) watching cartoon and listening to Mommy’s promises of taking him to the toy store to get his favorite Bionicles, and that he can have gum AND any snacks after we’re done.
After waiting for another hour, we were seen by a very nice ER doctor who was so gentle and attentive. He proceeded to explain to us and Tyler what he was going to do, while a nurse holding his head, my husband holding his hands, Holly was trying to distract him with an I-Spy book, and I stood by his head whispering words of encouragement. At one point while the doctor was sewing Tyler’s cut, he asked me if I wanted to see it. “No thank you!” was my reply. As you can tell, I don’t have the stomach for this kind of things, I can’t even watch the show “ER” on TV, even though I know it’s not real.
Here’s a picture of Tyler’s six stitches. This is the first time that I had the courage to look at. And honestly, I had to put my hand to my mouth to stifle a big gasp.
I was so proud of how brave and calm my son was, he was doing much better than I was. Seeing your child hurt is like the worse torture a Mother will ever experience, in my opinion. I told my husband that I’d rather go through childbirth than seeing my children hurt or harm. And I declared that Tyler will not participate in any sports. I can’t handle seeing my child hurt EVER again!
My husband, the calmer of the two, just chuckled and rolled his eyes, saying that this won’t be his last injury. Children will tumble and fall, it’s invitable and the only way they will learn to pick themselves up again, I know that, but still all I want to do is to protect all my children any way I can…maybe putting them in a bubble might not be such a bad idea. Hmmm.
Ironically, this week’s theme at mamasaysom is tumble.
*PS: We’d like to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to all the wonderful folks at Winchester hospital, the nurses, Holly (I hope that’s your name) and Dr. F. for your attentiveness and gentleness in treating Tyler. I hope we won’t be seeing you ever again. I mean that in a nice way!
We had one nightmarish visit to Winchester hospital Emergency Room (Mass)* about six years ago that I vowed never to set foot in an ER again, if we can help it, unless someone is bleeding profusely, needing an ambulance or stitches are required.
Well, that night was Friday.
We were at my sister’s house Friday night for dinner when Tyler, our five-year-old son, fell down on the hardwood floor after attempting to jump off the couch, missing the ottoman and landed flat on his chin. He shrieked painfully and my husband ran to him, as I was holding our 17 month-old Sophia.
My husband exclaimed in horror “we need to get him to the ER, this looks bad!” My heart was in my throat as I rushed over to see Tyler and there it was, an inch cut under his chin exposing his flesh and part of the fat underneath. I did what any mother would do when seeing your child hurt, I screamed!
After gaining composure, I called his pediatrician office and was patched through to the answering service who took our call (since the office was closed), and was told that a doctor-on-call will be calling us back.
We didn’t wait but immediately got in the van and drove to the ER, leaving our other two children along with their three cousins in my sister’s care. I was driving as my husband was holding a paper towel under Tyler’s chin to prevent the bleeding.
The doctor-on-call returned our call and I requested to have a pediatrican available to assist Tyler instead of the ER doctor (this was a result of a horrific experience at the same ER six years ago when there wasn’t a pediatric ER available. That’s one tip I would give you, God forbid if your child ever has to visit the ER). She said no problem and she’ll call the ER to let them know, she understood what I was saying even though I was speaking through choked tears.
The rain has started to downpour making it impossible to see the road, and it didn’t help with tears streaming down my face blurring my vision. If that wasn’t enough, my body was shaking a bit from seeing that deep cut on my precious child.
My husband was trying to console Tyler the best he could in the back seat. He was doing a better job than I was driving in the rain fighting the urge to break down again and also fighting the feeling of guilt. Guilty of denying Tyler snack since he didn’t finish his meal before the accident, and guilty because I couldn’t even console my son without crying my eyes out.
I heard my husband telling Tyler all the stitches he’s received when “I was your age Tyler, and see this on Daddy’s chin, Daddy got this when he was six. I think it’s genetic.” And he went on explaining to Tyler what “genetic” meant. The whole conversation brought calmness to Tyler and a chuckle out of me. I was so impressed with my husband and his ability to remain calm, cool and so very funny.
We arrived at the ER after what seemed like forever (but realistic, it only took about fifteen minutes or so). After gaining back some composure, I held the paper towel and Tyler as my husband went to park the car. We went to register and I had to answer all the basic questions, age, birthdate, etc…and then “what happened to Tyler?” I was doing fine, speaking clearly until that question was asked and then tears happened. I was too choked up to describe the cut and motion with my hand back and forth and pointing to his chin. The lady, apparently has dealth with a lot more trauma than I can imagine, understood and told me that someone will be with us and to have a seat.
Winchester hospital ER has changed drastically from what I remembered six years ago. It was not chaotic, run down ER that I remembered last time. There is a section for “Pediatric waiting area” with toys, coloring books and a TV tuning to the Cartoon Network, and the other area is for the adults, equipped with two TV’s, nicely funished with modern furnitures. There is one lady (I think her name was Holly), I don’t remember her exact title, but her job was to make sure the patients are taken care of in a timely manner and that the children are entertained and put at ease. She was wonderful to say the least!
We were seen by a nurse after waiting for about an hour, that is to be expected regardless of your injuries unless you’re bleeding and near death I think. Tyler was not bleeding profusely and he was sitting comfortably in my lap, remaining very calm and very brave (much better than his shaken-up Mommy) watching cartoon and listening to Mommy’s promises of taking him to the toy store to get his favorite Bionicles, and that he can have gum AND any snacks after we’re done.
After waiting for another hour, we were seen by a very nice ER doctor who was so gentle and attentive. He proceeded to explain to us and Tyler what he was going to do, while a nurse holding his head, my husband holding his hands, Holly was trying to distract him with an I-Spy book, and I stood by his head whispering words of encouragement. At one point while the doctor was sewing Tyler’s cut, he asked me if I wanted to see it. “No thank you!” was my reply. As you can tell, I don’t have the stomach for this kind of things, I can’t even watch the show “ER” on TV, even though I know it’s not real.
Here’s a picture of Tyler’s six stitches. This is the first time that I had the courage to look at. And honestly, I had to put my hand to my mouth to stifle a big gasp.
I was so proud of how brave and calm my son was, he was doing much better than I was. Seeing your child hurt is like the worse torture a Mother will ever experience, in my opinion. I told my husband that I’d rather go through childbirth than seeing my children hurt or harm. And I declared that Tyler will not participate in any sports. I can’t handle seeing my child hurt EVER again!
My husband, the calmer of the two, just chuckled and rolled his eyes, saying that this won’t be his last injury. Children will tumble and fall, it’s invitable and the only way they will learn to pick themselves up again, I know that, but still all I want to do is to protect all my children any way I can…maybe putting them in a bubble might not be such a bad idea. Hmmm.
Ironically, this week’s theme at mamasaysom is tumble.
*PS: We’d like to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to all the wonderful folks at Winchester hospital, the nurses, Holly (I hope that’s your name) and Dr. F. for your attentiveness and gentleness in treating Tyler. I hope we won’t be seeing you ever again. I mean that in a nice way!
UGH. I totally agree with the child-birth-over-your-child-in-pain thing! So much. And I would like your ER very much even though I hope to never see the likes of it. (And thank you for the tip on calling ahead. I will remimber that, for forver, no doubt.)
Thank God it wasn’t more serious! In a way, your husband is right. As an extremely adventerous boy myself, I probably went to the ER every 6 months for stitches between the ages of 5-10. My mom used to freak out! Hope Tyler is back in action soon. As always, it’s probably harder for the parent than the kid.
Ouch! But think of the cool badge of honor that Tyler can be so proud of. You KNOW he’s so going to be bragging about this one!
Wow, poor Tyler and poor Mommy! Thank goodness for good care and fathers who have been there.
I always say, “Bye, hope to avoid you for quite some time,” to my car mechanic… will probably have to say it to an ER doc SOMEDAY.
Please tell Tyler that his mission now is to make up a great story (or several!) about how he got his scar.
Ouch! That looks like it hurt bad, what a brave son! He definately has bragging rights. Sorry momma, I’m not looking forward to the day I have to visit the ER with my own.
I agree with your husband. I got hurt a lot while growing up. Injury + boy is like Peanut Butter + Jelly.
He’ll just get more careful as he gets older. I haven’t bled in years! (knock on wood)
That stitch is creepy!!
You brought back memories of the night (Christmas Eve) my then 2 year-old cut his head open on our fireplace bricks. My husband was too shaken to go with me to the hospital so my brother did. My son was also braver than I was. He was lucky, they used the glue stuff to seal it up instead of stitches.
Glad to hear he’s okay! He’ll probably be proud of the scar…
Oh wow, I’m sorry you had to go through that and I am sincerely glad that everything turned out well. I dread our first trip to the emergency room but, knowing that my child carries her father’s genes, I know its unavoidable. The pediatric waiting room sounds fantastic, though. I wish we had one at our nearest ER.
Awww. Sorry you had to go through this. I am between you and your husband in how I react. I’m fine until I have to say something about how the accident happened. Up until that point I am all business, and just do what needs to be done.
Wish that I could have avoided the ER for longer than 3 years for an accident…but I guess they are inevitable…one of those things that comes with the blessing of having “normal” kids.
I have acquaintences who would probably love to have their kids do something like that…and that’s what I try to remind myself every time one of my kids does something dumb and injures her/himself.
Doesn’t make it any easier to see your child hurt and in pain though, does it??
I am so glad that everything turned out fine now ! Sorry to hear all the feeling you had been through. It was not easy at all . You should be proud of your son now. Tyler is a brave boy !
Brave little boy you have there. I sat in the ER at another Mass hospital for 4 hours with my son bleeding and finally left. Another time at a different Mass hospital the same son had broken his finger…we were xrayed, diagnosed, and sent back to the waiting room….several hours later they realized that he had never even been checked in and there was no record of him ever being there that day. UGH!!!! Glad you didn’t have to deal with too much drama this time.
I would have just died. And fainted. Seriously…you’re a stronger woman than I.
I think you handled yourself just great. Better than most probably. I mean, do you really want to be that mom that looks at a gash like that on her little one and says something like, “Ah, that’s nothing! You’ll be fine!” No!! Good moms freak out!
At least that’s what I tell myself.
Yesterday in the pool with Annabelle she stepped off the ledge about one second earlier than I was expecting her to and I wasn’t ready to catch her so she went under the water for about a quarter of a second before I lifted her out. She wasn’t even under long enough to take a breath- it was very quick. My husband smiled at the excitement of it all, but I was immediately shaking and holding back tears. Annabelle was fine and even laughed at what happened and I still couldn’t get myself together! Ha!
So sad to see that happened, but I’m glad Tyler is okay. Hopefully, the scar will heal nicley, and at worst it will be a distinquishing mark that will make him look “rugged”, and he’s already handsome! I worry about my little 3 yr old Livy (Olivia) all the time, because she loves to jump from the table, the couch, the brick walls, fences, etc…….so far no injuries, but she’ll probably be my 1st trip to ER, knock on wood……husband said he was in ER every other month, when he was a kid. He still tends to be clumsy and get hurt rather often, I guess it is a boy thing….
OMG! I have the same exact scar in the same exact place, I got it at Tyler’s age too! But I tripped over my feet and ended up getting 4 stitches in the same exact place!
Wow! It’s so hard when they fall and need stitches… I’ve done it 2 or 3 times with #1 Son myself. You never get used to it, but it does get easier. I’m the calm one in my house. Mr. Bug doesn’t deal well with blood and such, so I don’t have a choice. It’s fine with me, though.
BTW - I delivered both children at Winchester (many moons ago) and only have good things to say. #1 Son had his stitches at Lahey and they were terrific with him, too. I miss being close to excellent medical care, but hey.. it’s the price you pay to live in the country!!
LBC