So, ed brought the kids home from the weekend at his place. And he said to me, "there's a bit of a bump under asher's cath site on his leg."
Now, those readers familiar with cardiac caths know what i'm talking about here. For those of you who are blissfully unaware of the ins and outs of the week post-cath, let me explain. They went in through two sites in asher's groin: a vein, and an artery. The sites on his groin and neck are all very bruised, though healing. But wow! Does this kid hate having the bandages changed! Anyhoo... your instructions post-cath include how and when to do the dressing changes, and things to watch for. The usual signs of infection: redness, oozing, heat, and so forth. The other thing to watch for: a bump under the site. Yup, a bump. A bump.... yeah, not so good. And yeah.... that's what asher has.
So, surprise, surprise, off we trekked to emerg.
We got there, and it was packed. And i mean packed. Standing room only in the waiting room. And that was just the people they'd already triaged! The triage line was long long long. One of the nurses came out to get the names of the kids waiting to be triaged, and the second nurse came up and said, "i'll just take asher in to the back room there and check him out. C'mon, Asher." And the looks i got from the other parents! Nasty! I mean, really, it's understandable, since Asher was sitting in his stroller playing contentedly, chatting with me and laughing, playing hide and seek and checking out the stickers on his blue card. But still! They were not impressed. But the nurse and i laughed about it when we got into the room, and she said, "well, i don't want to break asher's confidentiality, so i can't say, 'is your kid here with cardiac problems? Because Asher has half a heart, so he goes first.'" And we laughed. Oh, yeah, we are there WAY too much!
And then, in the middle of this busy busy waiting room, where the wait was 3 to 4 hours, we came out of triage, registered, and were taken right in. And the whole time, my boy is laughing and chatting and basically looking like there's nothing wrong with him. Again, you can't imagine the venomous looks i was getting from some of the other parents. We're greeted by name by a couple nurses, triaged right away, and taken straight in. Meanwhile, there's kids with fevers and all kinds of things, and we're taken right in. To a private room at the back. Yeah.
Ok, so, i told them about the bump, and some concerning CHF symptoms asher's been having. Now, let this give you an idea about the cath site bump: they ignored the congestive heart failure symptoms and focused on the bump. I'm not joking. "oh, he is puffy, you're right. Well, let's have a look at that cath site."
In the end, though, they checked out the site, consulted cardiology (not our doc. It was a different doc on this week... probably a good thing, since i've lost all confidence in our own doc), and sent us home. Basically, it's likely just a glorified bruise right now. Keep an eye on it, and if it gets worse, dr welisch will be happy to check it out in clinic, but yeah, no biggie, go home. Thank-you very much, i say! The less time my boy has to spend in dirty emerg the happier i am! Yeah, altogether, we were there a little over an hour (imagine the looks we got on our way out, too! Eep!). i paid less than $5 for parking! Gotta love it when that happens, eh? ah, the simple joys of SN/heart life, eh? <wink>
So there you go. Our Sunday evening ritual. (ok, not quite, but it sure feels like it sometimes! LOL) have a great day!
Oh, wait! Before i forget: today's the day they present asher in conference in Toronto. This is when they decide on the plan for him, including dates for surgeries and stuff. I'll post when i hear. J
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