Nathan goes to the ER........Again!

We have lived in this house for about 18 months. As you can imagine, with four active little boys, that we take our share of trips to the Emergency room. Nate is our current record holder, though, having been to the ER four times in recent months.

October 2005: I take Nate to the doctors for what I think is a bad cough. As we are driving to the doctor, Nate can't breathe and throws up all over his clothes, carseat, and the car. I take him in to the doctors, wrapped in a jacket of Matthew's that happens to be in the car, and the doctors and nurses panic when they hear him cough. Apparently he is wheezing, and has a severe case of the croup. They give him a breathing treatment, along with a steroid shot and send us immediately to the Emergency room. At the ER they repeat the breathing treatment, and admit him right away. He spends one night in the hospital, getting numerous steroid shots and breathing treatments before he is stabilized.

February 2006: Our family is at a church party. Some of the kids are playing on the stage. The stage is about 4 feet off the ground. Warren goes to get the kids off the stage, when I see a child wrap themselves in the stage curtain, and begin to walk backwards. The child falls, almost directly on their head, onto the hardwood floors of the gym. This child is, of course, Nathan. He is doing something funny with his eyes - sort of like when you spin a child on a tire swing and their eyes flash back and forth and are unable to focus on you. He was also unresponsive for a moment before he started crying. Then, when the crying started, it didn't stop for almost an hour. I decide that he better go in to be seen. The doctor feels that, because of the loss of consiousness and inability to focus his eyes for that bit of time that a cat scan better be performed. Luckily, there is only bruising on the skull, and we are able to go home.

March 2006: On my way home from an errand I was doing while I left my children with babysitters (yes, we always hire TWO), I received the dreaded call: (child howling in the background) "Mrs. Goodworth, Andrew (this is sort of funny, because it actually turned out to be Nate) has fallen against the fireplace. He is bleeding, and I can't tell how bad it is, but I think it's pretty bad". Luckily I was very nearly home, so I just hurried a bit faster and arrived a few minutes later. Nate had been running through the living room, and the side of his head, behind his ear, had hit the fireplace and split open. So, he and I head to the ER, where he required 5 stitches. He had to be put on a straight board with straps, and a nurse had to hold him perfectly still. It made me so sad to see him cry! He seemed okay after his popsicle, though! Also funny: when the registration nurse came in to confirm our insurance information she flips through our chart and says, "Okay, I see the last time you were here was last month, is that correct.....?" I just nodded and told her I have four boys. She seemed okay with this explaination. :-)

August 2006: Midway through my morning, I am walking down the stairs with a basketful of laundry when I hear a "crash" and then Nathan begins crying and repeating, "I sowwy Mommy, I sowwy I bweaked yow cwock." Somehow, my clock had become part of the boys 'bad guy' game and Nathans head had shattered the clock. Of course I couldn't care less about the clock! I ran to Nate and at first didn't see anything. But then he turned his head and the other side of his head was dripping with blood. I quickly carried him upstairs to the kitchen and began dabbing the blood away. It was clear that at least one of the gashes would need to be stitched, and I was worried about slivers of glass that might be remaining in the other cuts. I called my friend who rescues me every time I have a crisis (how come HER kids never end up in the ER..........?). She came right over and Nate and I headed to the hospital. Luckily, once the doctor got the wounds clean, it was not as bad as I had feared. Two of the gashes were fairly superficial and didn't require any stitches. The third gash, did need to be repaired and today I learned that staples are not just for office use anymore! I was so suprised when they brought out this staple gun and just stapled his 1/2" gash together! Nate was so brave. He didn't cry through the entire ordeal. Afterwards I took him to the hospital cafeteria where he modeled his staples for some old ladies, and we ate a bite of lunch.

So, you can see my other boys have quite the goal to beat! Four ER visits within a 10 month period. Ironically, none of my other boys have had to go to the ER at all, for anything! Nate is the only one. He isn't even my most daring child! Will should be the child in the ER constantly. He is a little dare-devil and he thinks up games that very nearly give me a heart attack! BUT, he never gets hurt!