when we came back in from playing in the snow mason was a little withdrawn. we all snuggled up on the couch to read some books (we had snack right before going out to play). after a few minutes mason started crying out in pain. he was having very sharp pain in his lower left abdomen. he screamed when i pushed on it (and not when i pushed on other parts of his stomach). he wasn't particularly warm but he was obviously in a lot of pain. he could not stand-up or lay down. he asked to go to his bed but could not stand-up to walk there and asked me to carry him. it was coming in waves now like he was in labor. he would start breathing heavy and grab his side while crying out for me.
of course, it was 5pm. our kids just have a knack for having ailments right at 5pm on a friday. mason isn't one to milk illnesses or injuries so i knew that he was seriously in pain. i had called matt to see what he wanted me to do. the weather wasn't great so i wasn't super excited about driving anywhere, but i was really starting to get worried about mason. this had been going on for about 30 minutes. he had also gotten a rash a few days ago that we hadn't been very worried about (we wrote it off as dry skin) and then this morning he had seemed very warm when i woke him up. i was actually a little worried that he might be sick and unable to go to school for his concert (he was sick last year for the concert - actually, it was with a rash too). we decided that i would take him up to matt's hospital after calling a neighbor to come and watch the other kids (it was sort of a there-are-no-groceries-and-they-haven't-had-dinner-good-luck exchange). mason was in so much pain that i had to carry him to the car and he couldn't even climb up into his carseat - he tried and starting screaming in pain. i was pretty upset by this point. i had never seen anyone in so much pain before! i did think to bring the ipad as a distraction for him while i was driving because i didn't want the extra stress of him crying while i was driving to the hospital.
after a very long 25 minute drive to the hospital, about 5-10 minutes before we got there i realized that he had either passed out or fallen asleep. he had not complained a ton on the drive but he did keep having waves of pain. matt met us in the parking garage and mason was able to walk, but he was limping and holding his side. when he saw matt he broke out into a huge smile. and that was when i started to think that i had been had.
the hospital was having its tree lighting tonight so there were carolers in costume, tons of trees and music as we made our way to the emergency room. mason seemed to be doing better all of the time. by the time we were in an exam room, the boy who would not even consider jumping at home, was skipping to the exam bed and climbed right up. i, of course, was mortified that he was seeming to be fine and i was looking a little crazy. i was thrilled that he appeared to be fine but feeling a little like i wanted to kill him. it was like he had faked the whole thing to have a little alone time with mommy and daddy. now, i know that he was legitimately in pain. and the doctor (one who reports to matt and that i will have to see at a christmas party next weekend) explained that the pain was probably very real and that some kids just have episodes like this that have no real explanation. i was very grateful that he didn't make me feel like a complete moron - because i already did.
mason was on cloud nine on the way out holding matt and my hands and he had a super cool bracelet "with my name on it". he even got a sugar cookie and punch as part of the tree lighting. sigh.
on the ride home i started thinking about we had probably totally ruined our neighbor's friday night, incurred some hospital bills and risked driving in rush hour in poor weather for absolutely. no. reason. while i hope he never has to hurt like that again, i do hope that it happens a little so that matt can see how scary it was. i was also thinking about my prayer before we left the house for God to take away the pain. gee. that was one prayer that was answered and i was a little sorry about. really, i am very happy that he is fine and didn't need emergency surgery or anything. i just wish that another adult had witnessed it so that i didn't feel so silly. love.
1 comment:
I say better safe than sorry. You are not silly. Similar thing happened when Kinley went in a couple of months ago. she didn't leave chipper and skipping, but she finally stopped coughing once there and they couldn't determine a cause - other than pneumonia. It ended up being a very long illness, but my point is who knows if and when her coughing fit would have stopped had she stayed home. Same with Mason. Maybe his pain would have gone on or gotten worse. Plus, you did pray for the pain to go away. :)
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