Letting you know about another one of those Tully Saga days.....

[Guest guest]

I won't be on much tonight or in the morning as I just returned home after a 10

and a 1/2 hour day where my adrenalin was kept on the edge.

Richie left for school this morning at 8 as he is used to doing and at around

8:15 or so he came back in the door crying and doubled over. He was complaining

of severe stomach cramps and nauseous. As he had had one session like this a

couple of weeks ago and I had sent him to school anyway and he ended up in the

nurse's office for a couple of hours only to have a call placed to me to take

him to his pediatrician. Nothing came of that visit, however, called his

pediatrician again right away. They couldn't take him in right away so advised

me to take him to an urgent care which I did. He was examined and sent to an

imaging office a few miles away where he ended up being ex-rayed and drinking

radio active cocktails for a cat-scan and we were there for nearly three hours.

Then it was back to the urgent care doctor and after he conferred with the

radiologist, I was told they had found something that was a " positive " and he

needed to go back for an MRI. When Richie heard that he

went bananas as he is afraid of needles and this required being stuck with a

needle to inject contrast. I took him back and prayed for an Angel to intervene

(as well as prayers to my Heavenly Father)(my best friend in CA was praying the

whole time also) and I think we met the Angel. She was the technician on duty

that would be running the MRI and she was also at the front desk because of

short staffing when we arrived and she saw Richie in the state he was in. She

came around and put her arms around his shoulders and suggested he go back with

her and she would see what she could do for him. About 1/2 hour later, the two

of them emerged and Richie was all smiles. She had conferred with the

radiologist and suggested just to do another cat-scan as they would be having

another, perhaps better view because the " cocktail " would have moved down even

further and perhaps the MRI could be avoided. And that is what they did. When

she brought him out, she told me to take him back to the

urgent care doctor (we were nearing 3pm by now). So we went out to the car and

as we were preparing to leave, she came running out of the building and said the

radiologist had decided he wanted us to take the film with us so the other Dr

could look at it and they could confer even further. My heart kinda sunk, but

didn't let on to Richie. We arrived at the office and were issued right in.

After the Dr took the film and spent some time on the phone, he returned to tell

us we needed to go to the ER at the hospital as they had decided from the film,

Richie's appendix was enlarged and needed to come out. Richie really did lose

it then, because he was so afraid he was going to have surgery. I didn't think

I was going to be able to get him to the hospital, however, this Dr who really

did not have any bedside manner with children (or compassion) (and has no

children of his own) started reading him the riot act as if he were an adult.

Richie did not really calm down but got into the

car to go to the hospital. He was crying up a storm when his mother called (I

had been keeping her abreast of things all day and she had just arrived home).

When I told her we were headed for the ER and to meet us, she started out for

there. Since she lives about 2 miles from the hospital and we were still about

10 miles from it, she arrived first and parked in the front. This is a huge

hospital, world renowned and so there were all kinds of people going in and out

when she arrived. Now, picture this.....she had Mikie with her (4) and as they

are getting out of the car, she called me again to let me know she is there.

I'm talking to her and getting directions as I had never been there before when

all of a sudden she yells " Mikie, OMG, what are you doing? " For a minute, I had

no idea what was going on and then she comes on and said " Mikie just walked up

to the front of the hospital and pulled down his pants and peed! " It struck me

so funny, I started laughing. Richie this

whole time had been crying very hard as he was so scared but when I started

laughing, he stopped long enough to ask me what was going on. It was what the

Dr ordered! He started cracking up and was fine after that and everytime he

looked at Mikie when we all joined up, he would say, " Mikie peed in front of the

hospital, I can't believe it! " and would laugh and laugh. This hospital was one

of most efficient ones I have ever been in. Within minutes, we were into an

exam room and Richie was examined by a Dr. Then the Dr took the film and went

to confer with the hospital radiologist. Ten minutes passed and he came back.

The word was he, the resident radiologist and and a couple of other Dr's viewed

the films and decided there was absolutely no evidence of an appendix

inflammation. What happened here, I am not even going to venture a guess. All

I know is two Dr's examinations, two cat-scans, and one ex-ray said there was

inflammation and then none.... So I ended up taking Richie

out to dinner because he had not been allowed food or water all day and had

gone 11 hours without either and he is now in bed. Tomorrow, we are to go to

his pediatrician with the film for a follow-up and then put it to rest. He'll

go to school until the appointment is made.

So, my dear friends, I am exhausted........

Talk to you tomorrow.

Take care.

Jan =^..^=

~ " If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the

entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand. "