One of the great questions of mommy-hood is “Is this injury, cold, etc. worth a trip to the doctor?”. I had to face that question yet again this morning. My 14-month old son fell, hitting his face on the window sill. This caused him to bite his lip on the inside and gave him what appeared to be a large gash on the outside. Since it was a lip wound he was bleeding quite a bit and screaming in pain.
I rushed him downstairs to clean him up and give him ice, but of course he wouldn’t even let me near his injury. Blood was streaming down his face and onto his shirt while I was thinking that I was the worst mommy ever. Eventually, I got him calmed down enough to call the nurses’ line. She tried to get me to describe the cut which was hard to do since I still hadn’t gotten it properly cleaned. So she told me to come in just to make sure. In the hurry to get out the door I forgot my son’s shoes and of course by the time we got to the doctor’s office he had taken off his socks as well. So I walked in the door with my barefoot and bloody son feeling rather sheepish. Thankfully when we saw the doctor he was able to clean up the cut at which point it barely looked like something to worry about. The doctor assured us that stitches were not necessary and we headed on our way.
Which brings me back to the question “To go or not to go…”. As I left the office I pondered whether I had just wasted my time and money because nine times out of ten when I take my son to the doctor everything is fine. I decided it was worth the trip because that extra peace of mind is priceless.
Sandie78
I hate this as well!
My DD was so sick on a sunday (when the doctor was closed), the next day I took her in, but she was feeling much better. It’s almost like I wanted her to “preform” - show the doctor your cough, get that runny nose going…show her I’m not crazy!!