It's been rough going for Devlin - but he's finally napping peacefully now. Yesterday afternoon, while tidying up the basement which is what they do every afternoon, Ceilidh and Devlin were horsing around. Also per usual. Except, Ceilidh picked up the handle from Daddy's exercise machine and threw it. Unfortunately, Devlin's head was in its pathway. He ended up with a small gash, just above his left eye. I'm sure there were lots of tears and blood. I wasn't home when it happened, but when I walked in the door some 4o minutes later, Devlin had stopped crying. The wound was no longer bleeding, but it was evident that the skin had broken. Ceilidh mentioned nothing of the incident while Devlin poured forth details and details of his injury.
It was bit of history repeating itself as I recalled a time when my sister Shunaha received stitches to her forehead, courtesy of our brother Bill.
Off we went to the walk-in clinic. After a 30 minute wait with a restless 5 year old, we were ushered into see the doctor on duty. Who happened to be my family doctor, and a good friend of my sister's. He took a quick peek and advised that skin glue (kind of like krazy glue for skin) would do a great job of minimizing any potential scar. For his own child, he would opt for the glue rather than sutures. Unfortunately, clinics don't stock glue, so off we went to the nearest emergency room.
The last time I visited the emergency room, it was very long wait. Dreading the interminable wait ahead of us, we stopped at home to pick up Daddy, books and toys for entertainment and to say good night to the girls. It was pretty late, and now Devlin was hungry. He was no longer complaining about the boo-boo on his head, but about the stomach pains because he was so hungry. This is one of those times you're grateful for having made the decision to hire a live-in nanny. We were able to leave our girls with Novelyn, knowing they would be fed, bathed and put to bed without us having to worry about it, so we could concentrate on Devlin.
While we answered the routine questions, got registered, gave assurances that no one in our family was displaying flu-like symptoms, and the flu was NOT the reason for the ER visit, Daddy went in search of food.
We finally made it to the ER waiting room and handed over the charts. There weren't many patients ahead of us, and it seemed like people were being seen fairly quickly. Hope that we wouldn't be there that long started to grow. Then it died as there was first 20 minutes, then 30, then 45, then 75 minutes before anyone else was allowed to enter the "treatment areas". The sign "Please take a seat. The nurse will be with you shortly" mocked us every time we looked at the clock. I began to wonder if the definition of "shortly" had evolved into "sometime in the next 12-18 hours". Daddy and I took turns reading stories and playing with Devlin. The waiting area became more populated as walk-in clinic hours ended for the evening. We watched Dancing with the Stars, House, Castle. And still no one called Devlin's name. And we watched the clock, because everyone knows you can't sew up a wound after 12 hours.
Finally we got called. We were ushered into a triage area, and told to sit on the stretcher and ...wait again! At last, a tired looking man arrived. He poked and prodded at the gash, and then announced that glue might not be a great option as Devlin would still likely have a small scar.
Doctor: So, it's really up to you.
Me: Will the glue help?
Doc: Oh yeah, it'll help but he'll probably still have a mark.
Me: Do the glue.
Doc: Are you sure? There's a risk of infection.
Me: And there wouldn't be a risk of infection if we left it to heal as is, and possibly have a bigger scar? Do the glue.
Doc: Are you SURE?
Me (wanting to scream but managing to control my tone and volume): Yes, do the glue. (I haven't sat here waiting all night, trying to entertain this child, while second guessing my decision to go to the hospital while alternately wondering if he'll be forever scarred and maimed only to be told "forget it".)
In the end, it took 90 seconds to glue the wound. Some words about watching out
for infection. And we were out of there. Exhausted. Relieved. Sleepy.
Although I think Devlin enjoyed the time alone with mommy and daddy, even if it was in a noisy, crowded ER. He did once comment that he missed Ceilidh and Aisling. At least, he bore no ill will towards Ceilidh.
That would have been that except this morning, Devlin had his appointment with the allergist. Some more waiting around in a nicer looking area. Some more time reading stories with Mommy. He heard one little boy cry, and wondered if it was going to hurt. Before I could answer, we were called in.
I explained some of the allergic reactions Devlin had experienced over the past year, and the decision was made to test his reaction to several potential allergens. Which meant lots of skin pricks on his back. He was told to lie on his tummy while I gently held him. The first part wasn't bad. It involved the nurse placing the allergens on his back - little drops of liquid. Then came the ticklish part where she wrote on his back with a pen, noting what liquid spot was what.
Then came the pain. The nurse tried to be quick about pricking Devlin's tiny back. The first prick stung. The second definitely hurt. By the third prick, he was squirming and crying, and yelling "Don't hurt me anymore!"
He wriggled halfway off the table, so both the nurse and I had to hold him down in a wrestling move while she quickly finished the pricking. More screams of pain, and the accusatory look of hurt in his eyes as the tears poured out was enough to make me cry. When it was all over, and we were waiting for the skin reactions to begin (and boy, did they ever!), Devlin kept crying and lamenting "This is the worst day ever!" Even promises of treats wouldn't calm him down.
He finally calmed down after I promised he could pick out a candy at the mall. There were lots of hugs and kisses before he finally forgave me for bringing him to this place. "I don't ever want to come to this doctor again!" he stated.
Unfortunately, based on his reactions to peanuts, lentils, cat hair and some others, it looks like we'll be back at the doctor's in another couple of years.
And so, that was Devlin's horrible, no good, terrible adventure with the medical world.
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