Mother's Intuition? and Visits to the ER in the Middle of the Night.

I am not one of those mothers who rushes off to the doctor at the slightest sniffle, cough, or boo boo that my children have.


But, I also am not afraid to seek medical attention when I believe my children will benefit more from seeing the doctor than 'waiting it out'.  


This is preface the following story...


Last night after dinner, my husband took the oldest 2 boys with him to the 'shop' where he wanted to work on a project. (My husband's place of employment, an engine & generator machine shop, is just down the road within sight of our house).  The boys brought their bicycles along so they could ride around in the shop's empty parking lot while my husband worked.


About 20 minutes after their departure my husband returned carrying Wyatt, who had crashed him bicycle & landed on his knee.  The knee was obviously bruised & sore with the typical scrapes.  A small piece of gravel also had left a small but painful puncture wound.


In general, no big deal.  Or so I thought.  Wyatt was crying quite a bit.  But, this isn't unusual for him when he is injured.  As the night went on, he continued to cry & refused to put any pressure on his leg.


When it was time for bed & I tried to help him up the stairs he cried out with each step or any time his leg was jostled.  


Still, I didn't think too much of it.  And, if I'm being completely honest, I was actually pretty annoyed.  I thought he was just being whiny.  The baby was crying, the other boys needed attention too, my husband had gone back to the shop to finish his project, and I was alone to put all the boys to bed.  I was irritated by his continued complaining about his leg.


My husband did return to help me get everyone tucked in (after an upset phone call from yours truly).  And, Wyatt fell asleep.  


Around 12:30, Wyatt started to stir.  (I hear every noise my children make in the night...even if I was fast asleep).  At first he was just whimpering, but then he started crying in what sounded like extreme pain.


I got up to give him some Tylenol and an ice pack for his knee.  But, he grew increasingly upset. Every movement seemed to cause him pain.


At that point I started to review the evening.  He had more or less been crying or complaining of pain since the accident happened.  He hadn't really been able to put any pressure on the leg.  And, now he was saying he had pain in the shin area as well.


I started to feel like something more was going on.  I woke my husband.  And, we brought Wyatt over to our room (partially to get a better look at his leg & partially so he wouldn't wake his brothers).  There wasn't any sign of swelling or extreme bruising, but I still felt like something wasn't right.


I told my husband I thought I was going to take him to the hospital.  My husband is much more conservative about going to the doctor.  He falls into the 'wait it out and see' camp.  He didn't think it was broken, but he also understood my concern & didn't object to me taking him.


Long story short, I went back and forth about what to do.  I actually got dressed, then changed my mind & put my pajamas back on.  Then changed my mind again & got dressed again.  He really seemed to be in legitimate pain.  And, if something truly was wrong, I couldn't forgive myself for making him wait it out.


I took him.  And, as it turned out after 2 1/2 hours in the ER and 4 xrays to his knee, he was fine.  The knee is just very bruised & sprained.  


I felt a little silly.  My mother's intuition let me down.


But, at the same time, I don't really regret taking him (Remind me of that when we get our bill).  


Being a parent requires so many choices, so many decisions big & small that effect the welfare of our children.  


We pray, we seek, and sometimes we just have to listen to our mother's intuition...even if it's sometimes wrong.