Spring Break ER Trip

I guess it wouldn’t be spring break without a trip to the ER!  If you’ve been reading here long I bet you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that it was Middle Monster requiring medical attention.

Last night after dark, the two youngest monsters were riding their skateboards inside the garage (we’d parked the family van outside to give them room).  I guess she decided she needed more of a challenge, so she switched to a bike.  She made a turn too sharply and feel forward, hitting her throat on the handle bars.

She came running upstairs gasping like the wind had been knocked out of her.  I got her calmed and we put ice on it immediately.  She hadn’t broke the skin but there was definitely a rising white welt and tiny scratches on her throat.  She could breathe (after the initial panic) and turn her head without pain, but I was still worried because she couldn’t talk normally.  Her voice was hoarse and raspy, and it hurt to swallow. 

Of course this is all happening about 9:30 pm.  That Man and I were getting ready for bed since we were supposed to work today, but I couldn’t stand the thought of going to bed — even though she seemed fine — for fear something would swell up in the middle of the night and she’d die.  (A writer’s imagination is not a kind gift to have when your child has been injured.)  I called our pediatrician’s office to talk to the on-call nurse and she recommended we go ahead to the ER just to be safe.

So Middle and I headed up to the closest hospital.  Unfortunately, every crazy and sick person in town must have decided that was the best time to show up, too, because we waited for THREE HOURS.  Kids were puking in buckets all around us.  I can only pray we don’t get the flu now!  Middle was feeling better but bored to tears and still a little worried.

Finally after 1 AM we saw the doctor — for a grand total of FIVE MINUTES.  He came in, felt her throat, and looked inside.  Since she doesn’t have her tonsils, he could see way inside without having to scope her or anything.  No cartilage damage, just soft tissue bruising.  He told her to stick with a liquid diet today but that everything seemed fine.  Whew. 

It’s strange to be driving home in the middle of the night, but it was a very happy trip.  Middle kept looking for a place to get a shake but nothing was open.  (By now, she was starving.)  We got home and I made her a Weight Watcher’s chocolate smoothie so she could sleep without her tummy grumbling, and then sent a note to my boss at the Evil Day Job that I needed to take today off.

She did have problems sleeping and came in to join me in bed after That Man left around 6 AM for work.  We slept a bit longer and then had a lazy morning of watching TV.  I was out of soup, so we had a late lunch of hot and soup soup at our favorite Chinese place, and then I took the monsters to the library.

Tonight, she’s feeling back to her normal vivacious self and is outside playing with the neighbor kids.  You wouldn’t even know she’d been hurt last night, until she talks.  Her voice sounds like she’s been cheering a few hours at a football game!

So I lost a day of work, both EDJ and writing, but it was a very good day anyway.