Hello again, old friend ER

Today it was Colin's turn. He told me in the morning he had a headache, but I suspected he just wanted to stay home from school. I gave him some tylenol and sent him on his way. I wasn't surprised when I got a call from the school nurse, I had figured he'd give that a try too, that he was complaining of a headache but didn't have a fever. I talked to Colin on the phone and explained if he came home from school he couldn't play outside with friends or go to football practice that day. He still wanted to come home, so he must have felt poopy. I picked him up and he did look miserable. He came home and rested on the couch when I thought I'd take his temperature. At 3:10 his temp was 103.5! That is a pretty decent fever so I gave him Motrin right away and waited 45 minutes to take his temperature again and be sure it was coming down. At 4:00, almost an hour after Motrin was given his temp had still managed to rise to 104.7! I immediately took it again just to be sure I was reading it right, that is the highest fever temp I've ever seen! Yep 104.7.  I took it again fifteen minutes later and it had now gone up to 104.8. I gave him a popsicle and continued taking his temperature every 10 minutes, much to his annoyance. When it was still registering 104.1 almost an hour and a half after the Motrin was given we headed to the ER. To this point fever was his only symptom. Right after walking in to the ER to sign him in he threw up all over the floor, and me. The took him back to triage pretty quick. Of course the decision to actually head to the ER and wait was probably what caused his fever to break, because he was feeling better now and fever had finally gone down to 102.4. They gave him more Motrin and some Zofran for nausea even though he said his stomach felt ok. They hooked him up to IV fluids as well. He was pretty dramatic about having to get the IV, but when it came time to actually insert it once the nurse was finally able to stick him he calmed down a lot and decided it wasn't as bad as a shot.

Then we met the doctor, who I was not overly impressed with. I understand he's an ER doc and not a pediatrician, but he was about as impatient an adult as I have ever seen. He would ask Colin a question and then interrupt his answer because he was taking too long to get to the answer part. He even cut me off and dismissed me a few times. After barely listening to my responses to his questions he informed me that he thinks they should rule out appendicitis because, (and yes this is a quote) "I've seen an unusual number of young children with appendicitis in the last few weeks. It's like something is in the water." I looked dumbfounded I am sure as I tried to formulate an acceptable response in my head before something else came out of my mouth. Did you get your medical license from a Cracker Jack box? My child has NO stomach pain, no vomiting (aside from the car sickness on the way in), and no other symptoms of appendicitis at all. Not to mention the fact that the number of times you have seen this recently is completely irrelevant, the last time I checked appendicitis was not a contagious virus. "OK so how do we proceed if you think it's appendicitis?" He tells me he wants to do a full blood workup and a contrast MRI. Are you kidding me?! I suggest a less invasive ultrasound first, so we can not expose my kid to unnecessary dyes and radiation. He shuts that down and says a contrast MRI gives a much clearer picture and that is what he likes to use. Well yes I understand that, but can't we at least try the ultrasound and if it warrants the MRI then go that direction? Nope. Dr. Dumbass was set on doing it his way. I agreed through grinding teeth and texted Shelby he better bring Caleb and get back to the room where Colin and I were stat, before I unleashed the mama bear on this man. Shelby, who wasn't present for any Dr. Dumbass's impatient and condescending behavior, tells me to calm down that it's just a little MRI and by the time he was Colin's age he'd had so many X-rays done and Colin hasn't even had a one. I tell Shelby I'll stay calm for this test, but if he comes back with any more insane ideas I'm going to tell him what I think. 

Colin has to drink a huge cup of contrast solution and then wait 2 hours from the time he finishes it. Lucky for us, the tech tell us when Colin is done drinking that it's supposed to be a two hour wait, but this doctor is impatient (ya think?!) and doesn't ever wait the full two hours, that we will probably go to radiology in about an hour and a half. Shortly after Colin finished the contrast the doctor comes in to inform us the blood test looks pretty normal with just an elevated WBC count. Nothing indicitive of appendicitis in the blood work. So why are we still doing the MRI? But he still wants to do the MRI to be certain and someone will come get Colin soon. Sure enough, 90 minutes after Colin finished the contrast drink they took him for his MRI, which he did like a pro. 

After the MRI Colin came back and since it was already close to 10 PM there was no radiologist on site to read it and they had to send it off to some other country for it to be read. Shortly before midnight the doctor came in to tell us that the MRI was clear and the appendix looks great. WHOA WHAT A SURPRISE! Who'd have thought?! He tells us he must have a virus and prescribes some more Zofran and Motrin and sends us home. Looking on the bright side Colin didn't have appendicitis, he didn't have anything seriously wrong, and Dr. Dumbass didn't order any more ridiculous tests. He was down for a couple days feeling drained and worn, but otherwise the fever never spiked like that again and he was back to himself in a few days.