ER visit

Which one is the patient you might ask?

Journey has been having some abdominal issues that escalated to the point that I felt she needed to be seen urgently.  A strangulating hernia had crossed my mind but that's my medical degree from the university of Google talking.  We waited for only about an hour and a half before being triaged into a room and then for another hour to be seen by the doctor.  Overall I was not unhappy with the wait.  The doctor that examined Journey was seasoned with no preliminary resident exam (no offence to the residents) and stated he could not "appreciate any lump" in the abdomen that we had been feeling.  His plan was to order blood work and we would make a plan based on those results.  Blood was drawn soon after the order was given and the results were in within the hour.  Liver enzymes fine, pancreatic enzymes fine, no signs of inflammation...all good information.  The next thing I expect to hear out of the man's mouth was that Journey would be sent for an ultrasound.  WRONG!  Well half wrong in fairness.  Yes there would be an ultrasound ordered....to be done in the next couple of days!  Why I asked would it be done within days instead of now with the machine down the hall.  Well because it was not urgent he said....  He said he felt nothing acute was going on....

Let's recap shall we....teen comes in complaining of severe abdominal pain just to the left of the umbilicus.  Nauseous but not vomiting.  Urine clear of infection.  Abdomen is soft but very tender to touch.  Said teen is pale and has a general look of being unwell.  Diagnosis at this point is "who knows? Sometimes we just don't know where pain comes from".  Now I'm thinking you might if you used the machinery you have in the hospital but said nothing.  Dr J says "so you have not given her anything for the pain then at home"  "uh yes I have" I replied  "codeine".  "Well advil would be better than codeine" he says.  So then I say in my best don't offend the dimwitted doctor voice "she takes naproxen 500mg twice a day and that's high powered advil right?"  "Oh she takes naproxen...ya she shouldn't take advil then"  Ya think Doc?!  Ya think!  I know you're busy fella and I can appreciate handling all the balls you have in the air has gotta be tough BUT if you are going to give a parent direction on what medication to give their kid LOOK AT THEIR MED LIST IN FRONT OF YOU!  Not everyone knows what each medication is and what they can't be mixed with.  THEY TRUST YOU!

So where are we today you might want to know?  Well call is in to the paediatrician who I should have just let deal with this to begin with but thought that the child needed to be seen where all the resources are.  She is amazing and will get to the bottom of things.  Journey is still in agony.  It hurts to cough, laugh, move too much and definitely lift.  Sound familiar to anyone?  She wanted to go to school for the afternoon so I drove her (clear cross the city I might add) only to have to turn around a half hour later as the pain was unbearable.  I should add that this girl has the word DRAMATIC stamped on her forehead.  She has a syndrome that comes with a lifelong helping of chronic pain and has been known to add drama for effect.  I see zero drama here.  I don't buy into drama and I really have seen none where this is concerned.  It's hard to overemphasize pain tossing and turning in your sleep.  Maybe that's just me.

In reading this post it reeks a bit of bitterness and anger.  This just might possibly have to do with the events of the last year.  Course it might just be illustrative of my normal state of mind....