Samuel’s first ER visit

March 26, 2008 at 9:28 pm (Health)
Tags: 3 year old, accident prone boys, falls preschoolers, falls young children, First ER visit, hyperactivity 3 year old, impulsive behavior preschoolers, minor lacerations in young children

Is Samuel a Tasmanian devil or a 3 year old?  I’m not sure anymore.  I brought him to my mother’s house for lunch, before I was going to go to work, and I went in before the kids, figuring they could use a few minutes of fresh air and sunshine.  My father was in and out getting the gas grill out to cook some burgers so I figured it was a safe bet.  Not two minutes after I came in Jamie comes running asking for Grandma to “come rescue Sammy.”  I heard Samuel crying in the background, and Jamie saying that he fell.  My mother carries him in and hands him to me, I notice blood on her sleeve.  She looks surprised.  I look and Samuel has blood pouring from the side of his head.  After we mopped up with cloths enough to see, he has a 1/4 inch gash in the middle of a knot on his head.   Fortunately the bleeding stops.  Jamie explains that Samuel climbed into my car and fell out. 

Samuel recently discovered how to open the car doors and likes to practice at every opportunity.  He of course must climb into the car looking for trouble as well.  At my mom’s the parking area in the driveway is sloped so that when I park the driver’s side is lower than the passenger’s side.  So when he stepped down from the car he must not have accounted for the fact that he was actually stepping downhill, and lost his balance.  So I called the pediatrician’s office and they scheduled him in for 1/2 hour later.  By the time the doctor saw him I knew he was ok neurologically, he was asking me to read books and pointing to the pictures asking questions.  Dr. examined him and pronounced him ok, but needing the wound closed with a suture or staple.  But he can’t do it in the office.  That was a $25 copay wasted. 

So I called out from work and took Samuel back for lunch, then to the ER to get the staple.  Meanwhile he is racing around like, well, a Tazmanian devil.  It didn’t even slow him down.  Fortunately he was good for the doctor, he was fascinated playing with a blood pressure cuff and she cleaned out the wound without a flinch from him.  She asked me if I though she should inject to numb the area and then do the staple, or just go for the quick pinch.  Since she would obviously lose his trust with the injection, I opted for the quick pinch.  He liked the BP cuff enough that when she put the staple in, he just sort of gave her a dirty look and went back to what he was doing.  LOL.  He ran around like a nut for the rest of the day. 

I missed a shift of work and lost $25 for the copay, ?? for the ER (convenient care section, so like urgent care), and I have to drop another $25 at the doctor’s to get the staple removed.  (I wish I knew another nurse that could get me a removal kit, so I could do it myself.)  Sheesh, that was expensive.  And why won’t this kid ever SLOW DOWN?  I guess I should be impressed he waited until 3 1/2 to visit the ER.  Jamie was there right after his 2nd birthday, and had the second visit at 3 1/2.  Mom was nice enough to offer us dinner.  I brought them home right after and washed Samuel up because his hair was STINKY.  Then I put both the kids to bed an hour early.  I’m done! 

Any other parents out there with first ER stories?  Ours have all been lacerations, nothing too serious fortunately.  Is this a “boy thing” or just a terrible two’s and three’s problem.  Hopefully they grow out of this!!   Meanwhile I will keep my car locked.