Trauma Center

What's your record for trips to the ER in 36 hours?

On Sunday I was driving home from a trip to Lowes and heard this choking cough coming from the backseat. I pulled over and Evan said he swallowed a sharp black thing. At this point he had been drinking and was no longer choking. So I drove the 2 minutes home and then set about finding out what he was choking on. Turns out he had broken his craft from church and there were several small pieces of a black pipe cleaner. These of course have metal wires in them. So I called the emergency line at the Dr's office and they said I should go to the ER for an xray.

And off we went. This being my 5th visit to the ER as a parent I knew the drill. So I packed Evan's videos games and stopped at the drug store on the way to get a book for me and some drinks and snacks. With these supplies handy the 2 hour stay seemed quite short in terms of ER visits. The doctor came in and said they couldn't see anything on the xray. He said if the metal was aluminum and small it might not show up. But if it was that small it probably wouldn't cause any harm. So we went home with directions to return if bloody vomiting or diarrhea should occur!

Fast forward to Monday. We started off the day with a picnic at friends. It was a lot of fun with their new big swing set and a baby pool for the kids and plates (a horse shoe like game) for the adults. We went home after lunch put Andy down and got our stuff ready to go to the outside YMCA pool for the first time of the season. I had marinated chicken so I quick grilled that and packed us some yummy chicken sandwiches (or chicken cheeseburgers as the kids named them). And off we went to the pool. By this time a cool breeze had picked up and of course the water was still frigid. So the kids only swam for about 45 minutes. Then we ate and they headed over to the playground that is only open when the pool is open. They had been waiting all winter to ride the "Wheel of Death".

This is what I labeled this piece of equipment when I saw it for the first time last summer. I just knew I would one day read about the child who fell off and died. So I made a rule that my kids could go on, but they could not climb on the ropes. Turns out I should have banned the ride altogether. Gabi was attempting to be one of the pushers. Apparently, while I had my back turned watching Andy on the slide, she was running around the circle and when it got going fast and was time to jump on a girl stepped right in front of her and made her lose her balance and fall off. I think she held on for a bit because she has road rash on the front and back of her. She was screaming the I am really hurt scream so Chad packed up the other kids and I carried her over to our umbrella. I used her towel as a sling and that seemed to stop the screaming. By the time we got to the car she was still whining but not really crying. By the time we got home the crying had stopped, she just screamed "OWWW!" if she accidentally moved it. So we waited an hour and decided we didn't think it was seriously hurt but we would rather be safe than sorry and take her to the ER. After all, I hadn't even had time to unpack my bag. Another 3 hours later and we found out she has a broken clavicle (collarbone near the shoulder). So they hooked her up in this sling that resembles a back pack without the pack.. It is straps that go around her shoulders and meet in an X in the center of her back. We go the the Orthopedic tomorrow, but it looks like no physical activity for 6-8 weeks and we can't get this sling wet so she is going to be pretty stinky soon!

Pictures from the fun part of the weekend: