Part INine. Nine is the number of times hospital staff attempted to get an IV into my son’s arm. Nine times. Both wrists, elbows, and feet are bruised and battered after hours of digging around looking for a vein and comments from the nursing staff like, “I can see it, it’s right there, I just can't get to it, just when I get it he moves.”
As a mother it is my duty to protect my child, take care of him, make sure that he is safe. So when you decide that possibly exposing your child to all of the other germs in any medical clinic, when is enough enough? Wednesday night, my husband and I felt like enough was enough. My son was having labored breathing signs, and his eyes were swollen, puffy, and he was falling asleep after drinking out of a sippy cup, or coughing.
But then once you are receiving treatment, when, as a mother, do you tell the health professional that they aren’t allowed to stick your son anymore? No more. The cost has now outweighed the benefit.
For me, that came after stick number four. The first four sticks were performed at our local ER.
Part II
Here’s our story:
6-6:30 p.m. My husband and I decide that because of Alex’s flaring nostrils and the skin sucking into his ribs when he breathes, we had better take him to Urgent Care (which closes at 7:00 p.m.) to make sure he is getting enough oxygen.
7:00 p.m. We are on our way to the ER after Urgent Care tells me that he is in distress and because of his fever and elevated heart rate they will probably want to blood work on him which they can’t do at Urgent Care.
7:15 p.m. Arrive at the ER
My son at the beginning of our 'experience':
From there the times get blurry, but in a nutshell this is what happened between 7:15 p.m. and 2:20 a.m.
The Doctor looks at him, orders x-rays, and starts him on oxygen. They start him on oxygen and take an x-ray.
Doctor returns saying that he does not have pneumonia, but there are dark bronchial lines which indicate that pneumonia may be on its way and that she will call the pediatrician on call to find out what to do next.
The pediatrician says to start an IV for fluids and antibiotics.
Two nurses try to stick my son twice each and then I request that we ‘take a break’. My son has been crying, sweating, and writhing now for awhile. I have a private discussion in my head and get the idea that maybe we should go to a pediatric unit where people who are used to putting IV’s in two year olds can put one in my son.
A lady comes in and says, “All I need is one more signature and your son will be admitted.” I ask why we are being admitted and she says she doesn’t know, she just does the paperwork. I tell her that I’m not sure I want him admitted because I think they were intending on admitting him to monitor the IV and we have not been able to get an IV in yet. She says she will go talk to our nurse.
An anesthesiologist comes into the room and I explain to him my thoughts of a possible transfer and indicate that I’m not entirely sure why my son needs an IV. I don’t think he’s that dehydrated, and there must be some way to get the antibiotics into his system other than through an IV. The anesthesiologist said I was asking some good questions, and also said that he couldn’t guarantee that he could get it on the first stick either and that he doesn’t stick children every day, and that if it was his child, he would do the same thing.
Let me add here that if I hadn’t had this conversation with this wonderful person who was super helpful, gentle, and kind, I think I would have burst into tears at this point.
The anesthesiologist said he would go talk to the Doctor to find out exactly what was going on.
The nurse came back into the room and said that he didn’t need the IV for dehydration, but he did need it because it was supposed to be easier and less painful than getting the antibiotics as shots. We both agreed that this was no longer true and she was very apologetic.
The doctor then came in and said that he didn’t need the IV for dehydration or the antibiotics, but because he was in respiratory distress and if they needed to get medication into his body quickly (like steroids), the best way was through an IV. She apologized for not being clearer about his treatment and explained that she was the only Doctor there and had ten other patients. I talked to her about a transfer and she said that she was more than willing to arrange to have an ambulance come down from the University to pick him up. I asked if we could just drive up and she said that he couldn’t because he needed to remain on oxygen.
My disclaimer:
I want to add in here that while I am a frustrated parent, ALL STAFF at our local ER were calm, respectful, understanding, and I felt they genuinely gave their best effort in treating my son. It is not their fault that they aren’t specialized in pediatrics. I feel like they did the best job that they could, and were respectful of my requests.
In addition, I fully understand that pediatricians on-call are obligated to make conservative decisions. Having said that I will move on...
Part IIIThe team from the University arrives and evaluates him. The pediatrician on-call says that he cannot leave without the IV because they need to start the antibiotics as soon as possible. This is the point where hindsight is 20/20 because if I had known what was going to happen next I would have demanded that he receive no further medical attention until he is evaluated by a pediatrician.
Anyway, I didn’t know what was going to happen next. I thought that now that we had a pediatric team in the room, we would be able to get a stick. We didn’t. The new nurse tried three times and then I excused myself from the room. She tried twice more and then the screams for mom pulled me back into the room. My sons face was bright red and his heart rate was ridiculous. The nurse removed her fifth stick and I told her that we were all done. No more. They agreed.
2:20 a.m. We left and headed to the University.
My son did not have an IV and he was not on oxygen. I had been keeping track of his heart rate and oxygen level at the hospital which was always between 93-97. I asked the respiratory technician why it was okay to be transporting him without oxygen and he said that his oxygen level was well within the normal range.
Ambulance pics:
Furious?! WELL BEYOND THAT AT THIS POINT. His oxygen level had been well within the normal range the entire time we were at the hospital. His heart rate had been a little high, but the only time it was really high was when he was being stuck for the NINTH TIME!
By this point I am just completely baffled about what has happened, and what is actually wrong with my son, because it doesn’t seem like anything is other than that he’s got the flu! Q: So why are we choosing to incur this huge ambulance transfer expense? A: Because I’m trying to be a good mom? Because if I discharge him I’m refusing medical treatment for my son? Because I’m scared and don’t know what’s happening anymore?
Part IV (no pun intended)
3:30 a.m. We arrive at the University’s pediatric unit. A nurse triage’s my son in and the first words out of her mouth to me is that they will not be giving my son an IV. She apologizes to me for what he’s been through. She says that right now there is no need for an IV. This is the second point in the night that I almost break down (only this time out of thankfulness). A pediatrician comes in and performs a thorough evaluation and agrees. She says that his oxygen level is good, and that she has reviewed his x-ray and it looks great.
My son at the end of our 'experience':
Our entire stay is less than 12 hours. During this time we are evaluated by many pediatricians. They all give him complete thorough examinations. All determine that he has the flu, or flu-like symptoms, which was his final diagnosis. He is treated with Motrin and Tylenol. Just before we leave they start him on Tamiflu because he now meets the requirements for receiving it
because he has been hospitalized.
Part V
Earlier I was tempted to post pictures of my son’s bruising on his feet, wrists, and elbows. But now, I just want to spread the word to parents in our area encouraging them to go straight to a pediatric unit (or an ER in a hospital that has a pediatric unit) if your child/ren need medical attention and it is after your pediatrician’s office hours. We spoke to pediatricians about this while we were at the University Hospital and they agreed. I do not want to see one more child go through anything like this. It is worth the drive even if you find out that your child doesn’t need to be admitted. In my case, my child didn’t need to be admitted, but he was and received attention that was more detrimental to his health than beneficial.
Please help me spread the word. I want all of our children to be healthy and when they are sick, I don’t want to see them go through any additional pain. I also want us to be able to pay our bills and provide for our children, and especially with a poor economy, no unnecessary bills (like the ones we are going to receive) should be incurred.
I could go on about how upset I am about our new financial burden. I could also go on about how this has already affected my son who will never let another doctor get near him, and how now every time he gets upset he starts hitting and thrashing, but I won't. I would just like to again encourage you to spread the word around our community to all parents, to insist that your child is seen by an actual pediatrician before receiving treatment of any kind.
I wish all of you a Happy and most importantly a Healthy Holiday Season.
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