{11/14 Update at the bottom of this post.}

When you become a mom, you earn a medical merit badge of sorts. Whether you’re putting a band-aide on a boo boo, rocking a child with fever or giving your child their 3rd breathing treatment of the night, eventually few things faze you.

Or so I thought…

Thursday afternoon, I found myself in my most feared scenario. Blood curdling screams from little boys almost brought me to my knees; I knew instantly that what I was going to encounter could not be good.

Panic is the enemy, in the race against time. Stay calm and assess the situation.

I ran to my 12 year old, Micah, gripping his arm that was very obviously broken, and dripping with blood. He was calm as a cucumber but looking pale and in shock, he repeated over and over…. “Mama, I’m ok, it’s ok Mama, I’m ok.” while I yelled, “No your not, we need help!” I was kinda frantic, I completely  failed to stay calm and assess the situation. I ran with my boy to my neighbor who is an Emergency Nurse. But he wasn’t home!! More panic and another neighbor came to our rescue as my younger son was on the phone with 911.

I jumped on the phone with 911 as my neighbor held my sons arm to stop the bleeding. I was less than calm on the phone with the poor dispatcher. She was incredibly calm and gave me very clear, simple instructions on how to treat my sons arm until help arrived. The 5 minute call felt like 5 hours, I pleaded with her to get help to us as soon as possible. I honestly thought my son would bleed out at one point, I thought he had cut his wrist, I couldn’t look to see where the cut was and was so thankful when the dispatcher sternly told me not to look or lift the towel from the wound. I would have fainted ya’ll!

The dispatcher proceeded to ask question after question, I didn’t want to answer any questions. I wanted help and I wanted it NOW! Looking back and having gone through that experience, I know now what I should have done differently and I’m mortified by how frantic I was. We live and learn.

Know what you will be asked on a 911 call and prepare to answer the following:

• Where is the emergency?: The emergency is not always located where you are calling from. Always be aware of your surroundings and where you are. Try to keep a watch out for the road signs, business names and intersections whenever you may travel.
• Nature of the emergency: Do you require assistance from law enforcement, medical professionals, and/or fire fighters? In certain areas, the dispatcher or a computer will tell you to dial certain numbers to help them know which department to connect you with and whom you should talk to.
• A detailed, yet concise, description: What happened? How many details do you know? What should have the most importance? In general, the most important thing is why you need assistance (a compound fracture of the arm, for example), followed by what caused you to need assistance (a careless boy who is bleeding from a bone that came through the skin).
• The phone number of your phone.
• Location. Give the dispatcher your name and address
• Listen to the dispatcher and follow orders (get a clean white cloth, wrap it around the cut to stop the bleeding)
• Do not hang up until instructed to.

I knew that for us, in that moment, an ambulance was the right decision but I asked our Paramedic anyway. Here is what she said…

When should you call for an ambulance?

“Each situation is going to be dependent upon the totality of the circumstances including: nature/severity of injury/illness, general health of patient, distance to nearest treatment center, time of day and transportation availability.

Ask yourself the following questions (if you answer yes to any of them, then call EMS)
1) Is there any possibility that I could die or be permanently disabled from this injury/illness?
2) Do I need to see a doctor now?
3) Will me driving myself to the doctor/ER place myself or anyone else at risk of injury?

If there is any doubt about whether or not you should call an ambulance, you’ve already answered your own question…YES, call an ambulance.

As we entered the ambulance, the paramedic asked me which hospital I wanted to go to, I must have had a look of confusion on my face, because he said, “You want to take him to OLOL because your son will more than likely need surgery and they will have an orthopedic surgeon at OLOL… right?” To which I nodded yes and we were off.

If you ever have a major emergency and need to take your child to a hospital, go to OLOL. OLOL is Baton Rouge’s Only Pediatric Emergency Room.

Preparing to Go to the ER

It’s important to know your child’s medical history – allergies, past illnesses, injuries, surgeries,or chronic conditions. You may know this medical history by heart. But consider writing it down so it’s handy if you feel flustered in the chaos of the emergency. As I did. And making a written record readily available at home will allow anyone caring for your child – such as a babysitter – to provide it if your child is seen at the ER.

From the moment we arrived at OLOL Pediatric Emergency, the staff, doctors, nurses and Child Life Specialists were incredibly warm, sensitive and thorough, explaining every detail of each procedure as it happened.

OLOL mission statement:

“At Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital our patients and their families are cared for with dignity, respect and compassion – where advanced pediatric medical treatment is delivered with sincere love, affection and appreciation for children and their special needs.”

We were incredibly blessed to have the Orthopedic Surgeon available and ready to take Micah in for surgery within an hour of our arrival. We spent 3 days at the hospital and they took amazing care of Micah, regulating fevers, high blood pressure and a very sick tummy from pain meds.

The outpouring of prayers, messages and well wishes from our friends and family kept our spirits up and strengthened our faith. We could feel your prayers, friends!! We are grateful for each and every one of them.

We are home now, pain is minimal and we are done with the heavy duty pain meds. Another blessing, he broke his left arm, he can do his schoolwork!  See update below.

While not every emergency calls for an ambulance, many of them do happen in the evening hours or on holidays. We spent last Christmas at Urgent Care, but that’s another story. If you’ve no health care insurance of any sort – there are easy e111 applications you can fill out to get started.

Here is a list of some of the best Urgent Care facilities for children… (if you know of more or have recommendations, please leave them in the comments below!)

Non life-threatening illnesses and injuries – Pediatric urgent care for families in the greater Baton Rouge area.

Lake Line Direct – 24-hour Nurse Advice (225) 765-LAKE

Pediatric Emergency Room – Baton Rouge’s Only Pediatric Emergency Room – 5000 Hennessy Blvd. Baton Rouge, LA 70808 Access the Pediatric Emergency Room from Essen Lane at the Emergency entrance. Hours: 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Phone : 225-765-8853

Lake After Hours Kids-  Pediatric urgent care- 12525 Perkins Rd. Baton Rouge, LA 70809  Phone: Phone : 225-765-KIDS Office Hours: Mon – Fri 3PM – 11PM  Sat & Sun 9AM – 11PM –  Lake After Hours Kids will treat patients between the ages of 3 months and 15 years old.

Ascension Urgent Care – 14350 Highway 73 – Prairieville, Louisiana 70769 Phone: 225-313-3930 Treatment for minor injuries and illness for patients six (6) months and older. Office Hours:  Monday – Friday: 9am-9pm  Saturday & Sunday: 9am-5pm – No Appointment Necessary

 Urgent Care & Family Medicine Clinic  – 4802 Jones Creek Suite A Baton Rouge, LA Phone: 225-755-0096 AND 1962 O’Neal Lane Suite H-1 Baton Rouge, LA Phone: 225-755-0095  Office Hours:  Open Monday – Friday at both locations Monday – Friday: 10:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Jones Creek open on Saturdays  10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Ochsner Health Center – Prairieville – Urgent Care –  16220 Airline Highway, Prairieville, LA 70769 Phone: 225-744-1111

Sources: www.wikihow.com & womens-childrens.com

UPDATE: We had an impromptu check up today 11/14 and Micah’s arm is oozing / draining so we he will be back in for surgery first thing in the morning. We would greatly appreciate prayers for speedy healing of his arm. I’m not sure how much more this mama’s heart can take. All I want to do is swallow this 12 year old boy up into my arms and protect him with every once of my being. Looking at him in recovery after surgery brought me back to when he was a baby, and I felt like I was looking at my 6 month old again. I wanted to make it all better and hold him, tightly. Motherhood… not for the faint of heart.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering how he broke his arm so severely, he was doing this (see video). And, yes, we did tell him NOT to do this.