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These are the thoughts of a cantankerous ol' gynecologist who remembers when things were a little different. I try to find a little humor in my life and the people I meet along the way. Come meet the characters in my world.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Oops! What is a Mom / Doctor To Do?

Three Speed takes a spill!

The reason there haven’t been any posts for the last couple of days is that there has been some excitement in the Lasermed house.  Three Speed fell and injured himself at school in the middle of the school day.  He injured both of his ankles, one more than the other.  When I got home, he was on the couch with an ice pack, pillows and a courageous look. 

We had to make a decision about whether or not to take him to the Emergency Department.  [This is the current terminology, since it isn’t a “room” anymore.]  His ankle was “non-displaced” to my semi-professional eye.  That means it looked swollen, but not bent at a funny angle.  Mr. Lasermed, who was a paramedic in his former life, agreed with this. 

Just to be sure, I called and spoke with the ED doctor.  They don’t have an orthopedist in our hospital all the time.  So we would get an X-ray, a bill from the radiologist, the ED doc, and a fee for using the ED.  OR... We could wait until the AM, and go to the orthopedics office, where they have their own X-ray machine, and we get to see the doctor we need to see.

We decided to wait.  We iced it, elevated it, waited until the next day and went to the orthopedics office. Nothing broken (thank goodness), but he can’t march in band for 6 weeks. He saw the "old man" in the practice.  He doesn’t do surgery any more, but has more experience than any of the other doctors there. The gentleman doesn't like gel packs for icing – he prefers frozen veggies!  I think it’s a waste of veggies, but he says they conform better to the injured part. 

Three Speed is on the couch even as I write this.  He’s feeling better.  Now it’s almost hard to keep him down.  His foot is purpling nicely.  It is still quite swollen.

And we saved well over $1000 in medical charges. 


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