It’s been one of those days. At 1pm today I was called by the school to advise me that the little one had a fall at break time (10.20am) Because she was still in pain at 1pm and her foot was bruised the receptionist asked that I collect her and take her to a & e to get an X-ray.
My daughter has been known to be a drama queen (she’s 9) and is that difficult age of thinking she’s a teenager but she’s still a child. Anyway I obviously left work to go and get her.
I was dutifully greeted by the lovely new receptionist (who clearly is wrapped around my daughters finger, she has a tendency to be able to do this to adults) who pulled me aside to tell me it’s quite bad and she needs to go to hospital. At this point I’m thinking dam she’s definitely broken it (I should have stuck to my original conclusion). I take one look at it and I had to swallow my need to laugh, she had clearly taken this new receptionist for a mug. I knew it was not broken and that it had such a faint tinge of blue to the area she had hurt it wasn’t even a clear cut bruise.
Now I’m going to admit I’m not a sympathetic person especially when it comes to exaggeration. This makes me look like a very mean mummy and I can only imagine that I was the talk of the staff room after I left with my daughter while making her attempt to walk to the car. Anyway I take her to a & e as requested by the school, sat there for an hour and 15 min to have someone look at it, touch it, make her walk round a room and then send us on our way without even an X-ray. Just to add I’m glad she hadn’t broken it but I knew she hadn’t anyway.
While sat in the waiting room for what seemed like a life time it got me thinking, why on earth am I sat here knowing full well I didn’t believe for one second that my daughter had broken a bone. Trying to add up the time and resources we were wasting sat there and it hit me! I was there because a receptionist had told me I need to get my daughter an X-ray, a bloody receptionist (I have nothing against receptionists at all) not a doctor, not my mothers instinct it was all on the word of the receptionist. Why did I listen to her? I know my daughter, I have a much older son I managed to raise to 20 with virtually no issues. Why was I there and then I realise I was scared, not scared of the receptionist of course but the repercussions if I didn’t take her and it later turned out she’d fractured or broken a bone. How bad would that have looked to the school, it would have looked like I’d neglected my child even though I felt all she needed was the rest of the afternoon on the sofa at home wallowing in her own self pity (mummy cuddles included of course) until she tired of it and wanted to go play.
I’m annoyed with myself, I’m annoyed I wasted the hospitals time and I’m annoyed I didn’t feel I could just tell the receptionist “I don’t feel there is the need to go to a & e I’ll take her home for some calpol and rest” why couldn’t I do that? I knew that’s what I wanted to do but there was that nagging little voice in my head “if it is broken and the school told you to take her it’s neglect, they will report you for neglect” it’s the same when I’ve called her in sick in the past they’ll pipe up “oh have you got a doctors appointment if not are you making one” (no, no I haven’t because a: trying to get an appointment is like trying to run through knee deep tar and b: she only needs to go if she needs antibiotics, if something isn’t clearing up or is getting progressively worse) I know my children I can usually tell the difference between a virus or infection and will take her to the pharmacist rather than taking up a doctors appointment. We do the usual give it two/three days and just monitor. I don’t see a problem with that. She’s seen the gp probably 5/6 times in her life and been to the walk in clinic twice
I don’t always get it right of course and it was that one seed of self doubt in my mind and those words from the receptionist that resulted in us loosing an hour and 15 minutes sat around waiting and a 10 minute consultation with an a & e nurse.
I know I’m sensitive and I over think things. My mum has been a foster carer for 33 years maybe this also taints my thought process but I also think professionals need to choose their words wisely, yes while they are in their care they are their responsibility however ultimately we are the parents and if I want to leave my daughters lightly bruised/sprained foot for a few days before getting it checked out if it needed it I should be able to without the worry of being branded neglectful. By all means make a recommendation but that’s all it should be. We know our children!
That’s my moan over I hope everyone else had a good hump day.
Coffeebreakgal 