Don't start reading this unless you have a few minutes to read AND unless you don't mind my being "blunt" - in other words, read on at your own risk! I will try to condense it as much as possible... Last weekend we went to Boise, ID to a volleyball tournament/camp with Shani and the high school girls. Planned to go to McCall, ID afterwards for a couple of days to CHILL and visit our good friends, Lisa and Nate Hunt and kids. Ned stayed home to be the "responsible one". Friday we went to lunch and Kamren said he didn't feel very good and kept "visiting" the restroom. By the time we were ready to leave, he wanted to go back to the motel to sleep it off. We were short a coach so I was coaching Shanis' team so I just dropped he and Kayd off and hurried back to the gym. The team had two games back to back so I didnt check my phone for about 90 minutes. When I did, Kam was on it like 4 times crying and begging me to come back. I called him and ask what was up and he said he was pooping and throwing up blood and couldn't get Kayd to wake up (typical teenager). How fun! Zoom, zoom back to the motel. When I got in, he was throwing up again. It wasn't blood, just pinkish stuff. So I ask him if he could poop for me and he said he would try but that it felt like a knife was cutting him every time he did. He pooped out three balls just like jello and bright, bright red. Now I am really starting to panic. We got Mr. Teenager to wake up and thank goodness for GPS - headed for the nearest hospital. Went to ER and got checked in to a room about 5:00 p.m. After 5,000 questions about insurance, etc. this gal walks in and says she is training to be an EMT and could she practice by asking us a few questions.. Patiently, I said yes. So she asks all the typical what hurts, what happened, what have you eaten, blah, blah, blah. Then she leaves and a guy comes in and says he will try not to ask the same questions, but he needs to know a few things. Yup, same questions, and yup, patiently we answered them. Kam kept falling asleep and was white as a ghost. Enter, person #3... Same questions, different order... But he did at least offer him a warm blanket. Finally around 6:30, the "real" doctor saundered in. You got it, she had to start over with all the same questions, and once again, patiently I answered them. So she started poking and proding, and then politely explained that she needed to examine him "internally" and told him what she was going to do... Poor kid looked at me like, "What the HECK?" I did my best and told him since "THAT" was where the blood was coming from, she had to check things out. You should have seen his face when she used her "pinky" and checked things out! So she pulls her finger back out and there is blood stuff on her glove. She looked at it and very methodically said, "hum..." Yes, I am still being patient. So she says we better get some blood tests so we can find out what is going on, and leaves. Soon a guy comes in and says he is here to do a strept test.... I said, "Excuse me, it is the other end that has problems, not his throat". He says the doc ordered it and besides, "the highway leads from the top to the bottom, so you never know". Funny, why didn't I think of that??? So about 8:00 they show up to draw blood, the same time the doc comes back in. She about flipped because they were just getting around to drawing it. (Me, too!) So she cames back a while later tells me she wants a CT scan. Now I am getting nervous again.. and the patience is wearing thin. I have Ned on the phone or texting every other minute wanting answers. Both mine and Kayds phones are running out of battery. But, on the bright side, Kam is beginning to feel better and get his sense of humor back. Ends up his white count is elevated, and he has pain on his right side. So I ask if she was looking for appendix problems, and she says, no - liver. Yikes, more panic setting in. So another 30 minutes goes by and she comes in and ANNOUNCES that the GI doc wants to try a different kind of test, called a Meckle Scan, where they inject nuclear stuff and then take pictures for a solid hour, in which he can't move. Ok, really losing sense of humor now... Meanwhile, I have friends coming to give him a blessing which I know will never find us... This technician was really cool and friendly. So they put him on this table and practically smoosh him with all this equipment. Luckily, he could talk while it was going and I could sit next to him and hold his hand. Talk about a long hour... before it was over, he and Kayden were singing Hannah Montana songs from her new show... HELP ME, PLEASE!!! Purpose of this test was to see if things were leaking out in to his system or something. All I could think of was $$$. So it ends and he says sorry, the scan is all negative. He is bleeding, but we don't know from where. Back up to the room. By this time he has to go potty. I kept asking them all along if they wanted a stool sample, and they would say no, not yet. Silly me - why go to the source? Let's do billions of $$$ worth of tests first... So I said "If by chance he poops, would any one like to see it". They all look at each other like "not me" but finally get us a hat in case he does. Amazing - he did poop. It was not bright red and jelloy like at the motel, but it was definately red. So they scoop it up and run a test on it and say, "nope, that's not blood". I say, excuse me - look at it. They say no, the test says it is not, so it is not. Okay - glad they explained that one to me! So my friends show up and give him a blessing, chat a little while, then leave. Enter - the infamous Doc. She smiles and says that the imaging was negative, the bloody poop was negative, and that she guessed that after all... "IT WAS THE PACKAGE OF RED LICORICE HE ATE THAT MORNING". I not so patiently looked at her and asked her to explain the high white blood cell count - she said must just be a small infection in his body somewhere. I ask what about her "finger sweep" and she said he must have just had a little fissure or something that was bleeding. And the throwing up? Belly ache from the licorice. The poop in the toilet at the motel? She didnt see it so doesnt know what to think about it. The tenderness in his abdomen? Didnt even ask her cuz I was OUT OF PATIENCE!!!
It was now 10:45 - we had spent over 5 hours in an ER to find out my son had eaten too much licorice. Can't wait to see the bill... And no, I am not buying her answers. We will go to local docs and see what they think. Stay Tuned!!!
