Night at the ER, So Pissed!

[mommy_of3boys]

We had a little BBQ with my sister and her boyfriend. My husband Eric watched the kids wile we got dinner prepared and grilled up. We started the kids off so they wouldn't get to fussy waiting for everything to get done.

Finally dinner was ready. We get the table set and sit to eat. I only get a couple bits down before my youngest decides he's done. I took the tray off his highchair and he decided he wanted to play with the buckle. So I let him. Then he decided he wanted to stand onthe foot rest and play with the buckle. I figured this wasn't very safe. So I took him and set him on my chair so I could lower his seat so he could play with it while standing safely on the ground. Before I get it dropped he went to lean on the table and his hands slipped, he smashed his head/eye into the corner of the dinning table! (All I saw after everyone else's gasps was him trying to rebalance himself, so I thought he almost fell off the chair and was fine.) Then everyone jumped up to run to him so I picked him up and blood was gushing from the left side of his face. He started crying and screaming making it gush more. My sister the medic. told me to give him to her and get a rag. Eric and I ran in opposite directions, I went the farthest and was back to her before him. I handed her the rag and she tried to calm everyone saying it was small and that it's only gushing because it's a head wound and he's crying. Eric said he wanted to hold him so my sister passed Conrad to his Dad. He decided we needed to get him stitched up so we were off to the ER. My sister, Kati, and her boyfriend stayed to put my middle child to bed.

As we pulled out of the driveway, any locals reading this pat close attention to this part, we decided to go to the 5-10 minute closer Davis Hospital not McKaeDee. We get there and to start with getting to the ER is ridiculous with all the construction. We parked forever away and walked inside. There were a few people there already, by a few I meanthere were 3 people waiting to go in and one group that have the injured person in already. We sign in and wait. Con had stopped bleeding by now and was running around and happy. We were there for almost an hour and he peed clean through his diaper, thankfully Dad had a spare in his car because we didn't stop to pack a diaper bag! After changing him, and a few more people showing up and going in, I know it's by severity not 1st come 1st serve, but most of the people looked like nothing was wrong at all, not in pain, not bleeding, not passed out, whatever. Con starts bleeding again and not just a little, a lot! We go around to the check in desk and let them know he's bleeding again and they said ok they would send someone out. After he stopped bleeding someone came out to put gauze and tape on him so he didn't drip blood everywhere. I was so pissed! There was no way he was going to let them do that nor would he leave it on. i told the nurse that was a little pointless. And the wait was on again. After more then 2 hours in the ER waiting room we got taken back. They gave us a room and another almost hour goes by before the Dr came in. He looked at Conrad for like 3 seconds said he would just glue it together and leaves to get his glue. About 20 minutes later he still hadn't came back. I went and stood in the hall to see what was going on and if I could snag the Dr. The only person I saw for the next like 10 minutes was the check in nurse and she was walking around not sure what the Hell was going on. She had an arm band and went o tone room and was very confused when there was no one in there. Then she came back around, we were in a narrow hall as far away from the nurse station as possible with no call button, she had three or four papers in her hand and was going room to room looking for who the papers belonged to so she could finish getting info from them. At one point she came out, stopped, stood in the middle of the hall, had a confused look and then turned and went back to her station. Seriously?! Then the Dr came around the corner, he saw me and looked surprised and confused, "Ohh, a......your still here?!" "Yes." He said his nurse should have been to see us. I said, "Noooo." He again said to wait while he got the glue. After another 10 minutes nothing so I went looking for him. I found him by the nurse station and again he was confused. I said, "Could we please find some glue?!" I followed him to the glue and the nurse to help him. They came in and I followed, before I was completely in our room I heard someone yelling, "Help! Help, someone help!" I stopped and listened to make sure I could tell where it was coming from. I told the nurse and the Dr, "There is someone in the next room that is calling for help." They told me no, it's ok. I explained, there is someone in the next room that needs help, really. The nurse hesitated and I said it again, someone is calling for help. I was getting pissed. The nurse stepped out and heard it and said "Oh, I guess there is." He slowly walked over there to see what was going on. The guy was feezing, and it was cold in there, so he wanted a blanket. Not a big deal but when your there for 2 hours and no on has even come to check on you and you have no call button, what else can you do but yell when you hear voices?! They got him a blanket and came back to us. They had me pin Conrad to the bed while they cleaned out his eye, well right above his eye on his eyelid. They did a shitty job cleaning it, they left all kinds of dried blood in it, tried pinching it together and it wouldn't close. I looked at Eric and he said, "There's a lot of dry blood still in there isn't there?" They stop for a second looked at it and said no it was fine and kept squeezing it, like it would close with the blood still there. They pulled out hte glue and rolled it over the open wound. I asked if leaving it wide open like that would leave a big scar, they said and I quote, "No, it will be fine, it will heal and close up from the inside and bottom out." "But it will have a big scar!!" "No, it won't. It will be fine." They made me so freaking mad. Then say now hold him down for 10 more minute so the glue can dry without him touchnig it and reopening it or glueing his hand ot his head. Question, HOW CAN HE REOPEN SOMETHING ThAT WAS NEVER CLOESED?!?! Then they sent us home.

I could have shit bricks I was so mad when I left. That hospital, specially that ER is the worst ever! In Nov they about killed me by missing my ruptured Appendix for 6 hours before doing exploritory surgery. They didn't clean everything out and I ended up with an addition infection and later to the removel of an ovary and tube. They don't seem to go by who is worse, they really seem to have no order, not 1st come, not worst, maybe it's alphabetical! Although they did take the 3 year old with the obviously broken arm that was crying in constant pain that came in about an hour and a half after us before they took us. As much as I wanted to get in and go home, that poor baby was in pain and mine wasn't, mine just kept loosing blood like crazy. Does anyone have any advise, besides not going back there, as to what we can do to show someone important that this hospital needs some serious help? Since I mentioned my experiance, or part of it, does anyone think I cold have a case against them? I don't want the money but they need to know you can't ignore things like this and that my life was almost lost and now my chance at having more kids has been dampered because of them. Wow, if you got this far I'm suprised! Sorry I kind of went off. But my baby, you know how it is, he was hurt and no one but me cared! or so it seemed.

I do have to give props to my hubby, he did great and didn't panic once and made sure he was clam before taking our son from my sister. He did very good.

(I'll try to add pictures later of the end result, that I'm not happy with.)

[momofana82]

Jul. 26, 2008 at 1:16 PM

Wow, quite a story.  I hope all is well now.

~Jahnae

[LuminousMom]

Jul. 27, 2008 at 1:15 AM

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience! We luckily havent had to go to any of the local hospitals yet, but I have heard McKay Dee is pretty good..I dont really know anything about Davis though. it sounds like they compltely forgot about Conrad! Poor baby... is he feeling better? I cant believe it took them that long... a head injury on a kid, even if its just a cut, should DEFINATELY get checked out right away.

I hope he feels better tomorrow!

[KrystleDawn]

Aug. 6, 2008 at 1:34 PM

My son busted the very bottom of his chin last year.  They glued it also.  Then about 6mos. later busted it open again.  Same spot.  I don't think that glue is worth a shit.   It might have been nore painful for my son to have given him stitches, but I dont think it would have opened the second time.   And you should not have to wait that long for a freakin doctor, regardless of any ones injury.  That poor kid should have been seen asap.  I HATE the ER.  I probably could have glued it myself better than they do.  

[AutismSmile]

Aug. 28, 2008 at 12:02 AM

 Hi,

I just happened to get around to reading this post.  I know what you mean about the ER.  I have to say that it sounds like you had a horrible experience at Davis hospital.   The last time I was at McKaydee ER they said that they had a 3 hour wait time.  There was a guy that dislocated his shoulder in a skiing accident and he was in major pain all humped over in a wheelchair.  It was  terrible to see him in so much pain.  The nurse said that they took people according to severity, not of pain but of outcome, meaning if they might die or not.  I have to say that Davis is actually faster than McKay Dee.  I guess there is a major problem with people going to the ER instead of making appointments with their doctors during office hours and this is a nation-wide trend.  Especially people who don't have to pay the bill or a co-pay for insurance. 

Karen

 

[Lovemyboys311]

Sep. 8, 2008 at 5:08 PM

I haven't had any real issues with Davis ER, but I've only gone there when there were only 1 or 2 people there... usually the middle of the night. I really love Mckay dee.. that's where I go now. I'm kinda in between the two hospitals though.