Emergency Treatment

Just recently my 17 year old son was complaining of pain down his left side. It is the beginning of the bike season and he had swapped his mountain bike for a BMX stunt bike, so naturally I thought he had just overdone it.

 On the first night of pain he complained that his left side, arm, shoulder and chest hurt. He said that his chest was hurting so bad it was hard to breathe. Being a good Mom I immediately applied A535 and a couple of Tylenol. He eventually fell asleep.

Day 2, he complained a little but not too bad. When it came time to go to bed that night he tried lying down and was brought to tears from the pain. I offered the same treatment as the night before but he said that the pain was way worse. It was even harder for him to breathe and he was taking short bursts and he was in a lot of pain. It was then I decided that a trip to the hospital would be a good idea. I still believed it was muscular but I figured that they would at least give him a muscle relaxer.

Of course it was just before midnight and there were quite a few people in emergency. When we got in to see the doctor he asked for an ECG and a blood test. They also ordered chest xrays just in case he had damaged something.

The time passed ever so slowly and everyone was getting tired and annoyed at the length of time we had been waiting. My son who was in pain was out in the hallway pushing himself down the hall in a wheelchair, my husband was mad. He said this is a waste of time he is fine.

Finally the nurse called his name. When I went in I was directed to an office instead of the examination room. The doctor was looking at my sons xrays and the results of his blood tests. I expected him to say exactly what I had diagnosed, but he didn't. He told me that the blood test pointed in the direction of a possible blood clot. I was dumbfounded, he's 17 how could he have a blood clot? He said that he was releasing us from Emergency and to go home and get some rest because he wanted us back at 10:00 am for a CTScan.

The CT San was hard on my son, he had never had to have an IV before and he really hates needles (like all of us). I went in with him as they prepped him but he had to have the scan alone. After the procedure we were sent back to Emergency to await the results. They even made him keep the IV.

A few hours later a different doctor approached us, he asked me to tell him what I had been told so far and when I finished, he told us that Zach has a blood clot and it is sitting at the base of his lung. We were in shock! The pain was from the clot pressing on a nerve that travels up and down his left side.

He was admitted and a battery of tests were ordered. First the Ultrasound on his legs, another chest Xray and an Echo Cardiogram. He was hooked up to a breathing and heart monitor and he was in a lot of pain. We were still in shock, he was just in a daze. He was angry, scared, sad and so was I. The what if's kept cropping up.

The whole idea of what if....if we hadn't taken it as something serious what could of happened? It could have been the ultimate price we would had paid. I hope that this story hits home to some of you and that you realize as we did, just because he is young doesn't mean it can't be something serious.

I will keep you informed on how he is doing, but please, please, please don't dismiss your child's pain just in case. May you all be mindful and I hope your children have a safe and happy summer.

Sherri