It was on a Saturday afternoon, Rosebud was sitting in her highchair eagerly waiting for the first bite of baby food I was preparing. I spooned it into a little bowl and set it on the table while I dished out a plate with things for Sailor to eat.
He sitting on our desk chair spinning in happy circles. I called his name and told him it's ready to eat. He reached out to grab hold of something to stop spinning, but instead of stopping like he had hoped he went flying to the floor and with the cries that followed I knew immediately it was worse than just a tumble.
I gathered him up from the floor and his screams got worse. I ran out to the porch with him to call LV. He came running to see what was wrong and after trying to calm Sailor he decided we need to take him to the doctor right away. He ran out to our phone shanty to call our regular driver. Thankfully he was at home and said he would be here in about twenty minutes.
We quickly got ready and I fed Rosebud and packed her diaper bag with everything she needed to stay at my parents while we took Sailor to be checked out.
Once we arrived at the E.R. everything was slow because it was a Saturday afternoon and there were hardly any doctors there. They finally took an x-ray and discovered his elbow was broken. They hemmed and hawed and said they really aren't qualified to put a cast on a child here at this hospital. So they gave us some pain medication and an adult sized sling and told us to take him to the Somerset hospital on Monday forenoon.
We were disgusted with them as we took our little hurting boy home and tried to make him as comfortable as possible until Monday morning. I was so afraid that he might bump his elbow that might dislocate the bones and make that it would be a lot worse by Monday morning.
We survived the weekend with many tears and were so relieved when Monday finally came and we could get the proper care for him and he could start on the road to recovery.
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I am so sorry Sailor got hurt, nothing worse than a child in pain and you can't help them. I do think that the hospital should have been able to arrange for him to be either sent to a larger hospital with qualified Docs or at the very least done proper splinting if they couldn't cast it. Hoping he gets the treatment he needs and a very speedy recovery...Hugs from Indiana....Birgit
ReplyDeleteI agree with Birgit. I know you didn't have your own car, but I would have gone directly to the larger hospital - Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200. Putting a cast on a child is a bit different from treating an adult, but it has always amazed, and distressed, me that hospitals are not better prepared for this. Kids are SO much more likely to break something than adults. I hope all worked out well.
ReplyDeleteWhen my oldest son broke his arm, he had to have surgery and the hospital we took him to wouldn't do it. They had him transported to a children's hospital about an hour away. I'm surprised they didn't have you go immediately. That is what was wrong about this!
ReplyDeleteSo....the hospital staff was of no help; so there was no charge, correct? I'm being a bit sarcastic. I bet they charged you well for not being able to help your son. Sadly, that happens quite often. Yes, I'm frustrated with modern medicine in these instances. By the way, did you know it's illegal for the average person to own an aloe vera plant, now? It's true.
ReplyDeleteBirgit--this is not happening currently. It's a story told about her son's past.
ReplyDeleteThe same happened to my son--a careless accident resulted in a broken arm at bedtime (8 pm) when he was young. Could only x-ray it and he wore a sling until the next day when the orthopaedic doctors came in to the very good private hospital 5 min down the road and could set it.
@ Becca, I must not have been far enough in reading all the past posts... only a recent follower.. I just can't stand to hear about kids being hurt and the treatment not being right there. Always was that way with mine too.....Hugs Birgit
ReplyDeleteOh Poor little guy.. There is nothing like pain.. And for a little one is worse..I'm sorry to hear your ER couldn't handle it..Sounds like our Hosp here.. If they can't help they will say sorry you have to go to bigger Hosp..Hope he is feeling better soon..
ReplyDeleteWhat a nightmare! poor baby! You must have been a nervous wreck all weekend. Blessings, Joanne
ReplyDeletethat is just soo crule to leave a child in pain and not do anything to stop further injury just cant believe the way some folks think or should it be DONT think.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I used to work for a large insurance company and know that a lot of hospitals will not treat people without insurance especially in large cities. When the medical arena turned from a service to a business all thing changed, mercy and grace went out the window along with common sense and Christian ethics. They had been gong to this for a long time in large cities and now it seems to be everywhere.
ReplyDeletePraise the Lord for His healing powers and that Sailor now is well. Our daughter had an accident as well and we were blessed to have a small local hospital that was connected to a church. They did not wait for forms but sent my husband to do the forms and me to be with our daughter while she was being attended. By the time the forms were filled out my daughter was well on the way getting stitches put in. She fell off the dog trying to ride him like a horse and fell with her whole weight on her chin. To this day, she still has an inch scare on her chin.
Mrs. J.
I am sorry to hear this, yet I can relate! My son, at 2, fell simply running in the house. He broke his femur. Because the hospital locally said that they were not equipped to set children's bones properly, he had to endure a 2 hour drive to a larger hospital on a morphine drip at 1:30 am. It took 4 hours just to find a hospital that close. What a night that was! To top it off, my parents were visiting from half-way across the country and were only here for a week. That hospital stay was a long 2 days without my 4 week old daughter. Hard to remember that the hospital is just trying to help.
ReplyDelete*Shaking head* Not qualified indeed!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, the medical profession just gets worse and worse!
I broke a bone right in front of my elbow. The pain was EXTREME...worse than anything I'd ever felt then and since! I had to wait 24 hours before seeing a doctor and getting a cast...thanks, HMO...not really!!
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this, I kept remembering that time. Falling asleep only to slightly bump my arm and waking up almost screaming with the pain of it. As an adult, I understood what was happening, why and how long it might be before I would get some help.
How much worse to be a small child and not understand and to have to wait MORE than 24 hours!! It really makes me angry at that hospital!! And thankful that my experience was not worse than it was.
So thanks for sharing = )
Oh I am so sorry to read this. So glad there was someone to get you to the Er. .
ReplyDeleteAm just geting caught up on your posts. Seems like I have not had much time with my chime group[ performances and running for Graduation and open house. Took me a couple days to rest up.