An ER Adventure

Last week, we did something as a family that we've never done before: took one of our members to the Emergency Room! We're grateful that we've made it almost 10 years with these kids without any medical emergencies, and even last week's trip turned out to not be too bad. It was an adventure, though.

Sarah Claire was the patient in question. While we were dropping some things off at an office where we have some things stored, she accidentally caused a large, 30-lb roll of shrink wrap to roll off of a box onto her toe. The results were not pretty, and we knew immediately that we would need to get it looked at.

Healthcare can be tricky here. While we have some really great doctors that we love (like our pediatrician and OB/GYN), not all doctors and hospitals have such a great reputation. As a national doctor put it to Jason one time, "Here in our country we have some real centers of excellence, but also some catastrophic places." 

So, in an effort to avoid visiting anywhere "catastrophic," we try to stick with proven doctors and hospitals, and we know of several hospitals to go to in case of an emergency. However, in this case, the nearest hospital on our list was a good distance away, and having just driven from that direction, we knew that traffic was really backed up between us and the hospital. We really didn't want to spend an hour in the car with a distraught, bleeding little girl, so we decided to take our chances on a hospital that was just around the corner from the office. We hadn't been there before and didn't know much about it, except that it always seemed busy and looked nice from the outside.

We got there quickly, asking if they had an Emergency Room as we pulled up. They did, so Jason [carried her inside and straight into the ER. Within minutes, they were cleaning and examining her toe. Everything was clean and professional. They did some x-rays to make sure she hadn't broken any bones (she hadn't!), and then had two different doctors come and talk to us about what we needed to do.

Here she is showing off her hospital bracelet, giving the best smile she could manage at the time. She was in a lot of pain for a while, but thankfully started feeling better before too long. After they got the bleeding to slow down, they determined that she didn't even need stitches. They just wrapped and medicated her toe well, and told us to keep changing it each day.

In less than an hour, we were on our way home. The nurse pushed Sarah Claire to the door in a wheelchair, which she loved. The other kids decided to let her choose what we had for lunch, and she requested Hardee's, complete with a milkshake!

By the time the milkshake was gone, her smile was back!

When we got home, Sawyer used his new Lego hospital set to re-enact the whole ordeal. We're so grateful for all the graces of that day--a good, nearby hospital and doctors, an injury less serious than we first thought, and a tough little girl who handled it all so well. I told her that she was a tough cookie, and ever since, she's been reminding us that Mama says she's "as tough as a cookie."

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the most amazing part of the story for us grown-ups:  Our entire hospital visit, including the X-ray and consult with two doctors, set us back about $65! Total! That's not a co-pay or deposit or anything--that's the entire medical bill. It costs more than that to walk through the doors of a hospital in the US!

We're grateful for our tough cookie and the doctors who took care of her. And we're hoping this is our last ER adventure for a while! 

It's great to be eight!

Sawyer turned eight earlier this month, and we had a great time celebrating his big day!

Hard to believe it was eight years ago that we brought that sweet baby on the left home from the hospital. He's a little more active these days, but just as sweet as ever.

He chose to have a Lego-themed birthday party this year--quite appropriate since he spends a LOT of time building with his Legos. Of course, we played with them at his party, too, including this "Lego toss game." Here I am showing them how it's done!

I had fun making this Lego cake for him, and he really loved it, though I know he doesn't look so thrilled in the picture. I think he's just concentrating on his strategy for blowing out all eight candles.

He loved opening his presents, of course, especially when 

he saw that he got more Legos!

He also loved these cool snakes that Lee Anna made for him on her Rainbow Loom.

His actual birthday was on a different day, so we did some celebrating then, too. Here's his specially-requested pancake breakfast, on the "special plate," of course.

We love you, Sawyer! So glad you're a part of our family!