My baby girl was in the ER!!

Clarissa

Clarissa

Cathlete
Just venting - my little Lara Rose, age 3, fell last night while playing in the basement. I was putting the finishing touches on my home gym and I wasn't watching her every move... She slipped on our concrete floor in her socks and fell HARD on her chin. She split it open very very badly. She didn't cut it on anything, the skin just split open. It was the scariest thing ever. It looked so bad, you can't even imagine. My husband and I, Lara, and my 6 year old son spent 4 hours in the ER waiting for someone to see her. They just kept taking in people who got there later than us, and didn't even seem sick (like maybe a fever, big deal...) It seems we get treated like this a lot, I've noticed, because we are young. Same when we wait in line at a store, or at a restaurant, and even in my position as HR Manager. Like people don't take us seriously b/c of our age. "oh its just young people, they can wait" Anyway, it was an ordeal to say the least.

Does anyone think her scars will be bad? I am really worried for her. Also, although I am glad she didn't have teeth knocked out, I fear she may have jarred her teeth. She is in a lot of pain. It only made it harder for her that she had to wait so long to be seen. The pain was worse for her. THanks for listening...

Clarissa
 
Clarissa,
I hope everything is OK. My heart dropped when I read your post. ERs are suppossed to triage people based on the apparent or possible severity of their condition when they arrive and they shouldn't be taking people in order of arrival. If that is what happened, I would investigate your hospital's policy. I would also take your daughter to her pediatrician as soon as possible and get his/her opinion and possible referrals to other specialists such as a dentist to make certain her teeth are OK. What an awfully frightening experience for her, you and your family. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt worse.
Wishing you the best.
 
Clarissa - sending lots of {{{hugs}}}. Having to wait in the ER is bad enough, but when it's your baby, it's just rotten!

FYI, I fell off my bike when I was 8, went over the handlebars and split my chin open. I had 7 stitches. You can hardly see my scar, so I bet your baby will be okay:)
 
Clarissa, its really scary when our kids bleed!! More stressful for us! And made worse when you have to sit in the ER for sooo long. I've never found hospitals like that when it involves kids, kids are usually taken in and looked at real quick! Surprising 4 sure

I have had both of my girls (they are 8 and 3 now) stitched up. Neither fall was at home while they where with me, they were at child care, but accidents happen. Vitamin E,and C (use the vitc C sparingly) oil can help with the scarring but their skin heals better than us oldies! You may not need to use anything.

Andrea
 
Clarissa, you poor thing! What a miserable experience all around. If I were you, I'd get her to the pediatric dentist as soon as it makes sense. I'll bet her teeth are fine, but it's best to get them checked.

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Clarissa,
((((((Hugs to you and your little girl)))))) My DD (now 12) actually split her chin open 3X. Yes, you read that right. She did it when she was 4 (dancing in socks on a tile floor). Needed 3 stitches. Small scar. (I know what you mean about deep open flesh wounds **shudder**) She did it again when she was 5. Slipped in the bathtub while we were in Buenos Aires, two hours before our flight home. Having seen one deep open flesh wound, I knew she'd done it again. I was nervous about going to a doctor in a foreign country, and my pediatrician said just bandage her up and go to the emergency room when we landed in the US. It was a 10 hour flight so she couldn't get stitches. I think there's a 6 or 7 hour rule. Anything longer than that and it's no longer safe to get stitches because they could seal in bacteria. They just butterfly bandaged it. Another small scar. Third time she was 7. Fell on a brick floor. Yet another deep split to the same area. Went to the ER. Five stitches. DD was a pro by then. Yet another small scar. The scars fade with time and "shrink" as she grows. Don't worry, your little girl will be fine. Me? I always had to lay down once she'd been treated, because I got so nauseous seeing the wound(s). My protective "mother bear instincts" would hold me together to get DD cared for, but invariably, on the last stitch, it would all sink in. I would get faint, turn white and they'd tell me to lie down somewhere.

I'm sorry you all had to wait so long for treatment. We never had to go through that because the ER wasn't busy either time. I do believe it's strictly a priority thing and high fevers are potentially very dangerous (could be meningitis, etc.) While stitches are scary, unless there's a lot of bleeding, wounds like that aren't life threatening. I'm sure your DD will be feeling better in a day or so. They heal faster than us! Take care--

Jonahnah
Chocolate IS the answer, regardless of the question.
 
Oh sweetie!:eek: You must have been terrified, how dare they make you and your baby wait! I can see if someone was being wheeled in with life-threatening heart problems or whatever-they get first priority, but to make a little child who is bleeding wait? :eek: I would have caused a total stink up in that emergency room. Sending healing vibes to your little one, I would take her to the dentist as soon as possible, just to make sure her teeth are okay. Oh dear, I would be beside myself too.
 
So sorry to hear your baby and you had to go through this. I split my chin open at 5 and so did my DD when she was 5. Mine was done climbing up an ice hill. My scar is about 1 inch and 1/2 long right at the base of my chin. So unless someone is hanging around my neck it is totally unnoticeable. DD did her's at a water park. Her's was much smaller and the scar is even less noticeable. When I had my stitches in, my mom would sit me in front of the mirror and we would say, "not by the hair of my chinny chinny chin" since the threads stuck out like hairs. We would laugh and then I didn't feel self conscience aobut it. As for the scarring, talk to your regular doctor about the scar treatment medications that are out. They didn't have those when DD was young, so I don't know how well they work.

Sorry to hear how you were treated, but I hope it was based on the severity of the conditions and not your age. But nowadays you never know.

Jean
 
I split my chin open when I was 3; that was 45 years ago! I had 8 stitches. Today, the scar is tiny, less than half an inch. I'm the only one who is aware of it and it takes a 10X mirror for me to see it in detail. Don't worry, young skin has wonderful healing properties. She'll be fine :)

Sarah
 
It's a horrible feeling to be sitting in the ER with an injured child... I know! I would follow up with her pediatrician and her dentist, and be thankful nothing worse happened. In the meantime, did they give the okay for a little tylenol? That should help your little one feel better. As for you, maybe a glass of merlot tonight?;-)
 
Clarissa, I'm so sorry. I know the feeling...it's a nightmare.

We rushed our 5-year-old to ER with her 4 front teeth bashed all the way into her gums. They said, "Sorry, this is a dental problem. Take her to the dentist." We were horrified! They didn't do anything. Well, then we rushed her to our dentist and he said, "We can't do anything but wait and see if her permanent teeth are damaged." I was nearly hysterical by this time.

Long story short, her teeth slowly came back down; they were a little discolored. They fell out a year later (right on schedule) and her permanent teeth were fine.

She got over it long before I did. Kids are pretty tough; mothers aren't. I doubt the scar will be big enough to matter if she scars at all.
 
about 2 years ago viola hit her face on a desk and split her nose. we sat in the ER for nearly 8 hours along with a little boy who split his head the same way. we were two very angry mothers!!! i hate to admit it but i got mad that a little kid wasn't put before a frickn' crack head. sorry i know they are ppl with issues but they chose to do a drug that "made them feel bad" and they come into the ER and say that and boom two kids sit bleeding.

i hope your little one is doing okay now. and sorry you had to experience this as well. you can hardly tell viola's scar. i used alot of vitamin E lotion after it healed. they didn't give her stitches they used this glue which did the same effect. my goodness she milked it for all its worth b/c i felt so bad for not being in the room when it happened.

kassia

http://www.picturetrail.com/ldy_solana

"And do what thee wilt as long as ye harm none"

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1307/4842454/16585805/276676894.jpg
 
Oh, how scary!!!! Give her some extra snuggles & I'm sure there won't be much of a scar. Kids are resilient!!

I can't believe you had to wait for 4 hours though!!!!!!! That's ridiculous, I would have been upset!

Hope your night was relaxing to make up for it!
 
Clarissa, So sorry to read of your ordeal! Hope DD is doing well.

My biggest concern is for YOU right now. My 3-yo. DD was in the ER in the fall for a febrile seizure. She got over it pretty quickly but I couldn't sleep for a week and I sometimes STILL get kind-of panic attacks thinking about it. Get as much sleep as you can and snuggle that sweet baby for all she's worth.

Let us know how you BOTH are doing!
 
Oh Clarissa that is terrible. I hope little Lara Rose is feeling better. My DD fell last year when she was four and put her tooth through her lip. You can't even see the scar now. ERs make me so mad! {{{hugs}}} to your little one and to you.

Kim
 
Clarissa,what an awful experience...Im sending major hugs to your little girl(i have a 2yr old and just can't imagine holding him in the er with him in pain :-() I hope she is doing better today,poor thing! Hugs to you too!
 
Thanks everyone for the kind words. Lara is doing okay and her "beard" looks kind of cute! SHe is to get her stitches out either TUesday late afternoon or Wed morning.

PS - Yes, I have had a nightmare already about the whole thing.

Clarissa :)
 
Clarissa,
I am SO sorry for your little girl! I hate that it took so long for the doctors to get to her, and she had to wait for so long. But kids are SO resilient. I guarantee that you were more upset about it than she was. Do you guys have a children's hospital near you that you could use in case of emergencies instead next time? We had to take Henry to our children's hospital last year, when he was 2, because of a 104-degree fever late at night. The staff there was much more attentive because they only deal with kids.

Regardless, I'm really glad that everything turned out OK. I'm sure she'll heal beautifully! I'd just make sure to tell her dentist about it at her next visit so he can check out her teeth and jaw really well.

Sending hugs!
 
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