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If it's a non complainer, i may put them through all the normal paces first (bathroom, snack, rest, etc) depending on the situation. but i may also give an FYI call too if it's a kid i never ever see. We are not fortune tellers, we do not have x-ray eyes. We can only do our best. I would be willing to bet that that child's parent would not have rushed him to the hospital at the first glimmer of pain.
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OP, you stated even the child's PCP thought it was gas. We are not doctors, and frankly, even a doctor could miss things after an exam in my office given the limited tools I (and many of us on this board) have.
I had a student once with consist complaints of stomachache. No rebound pain, no increased pain with palpation. No fever. Just general complaint. I felt something was off, called his Mom to only hit VM after VM. Had student go home to advocate for pushing parent/himself to make appointment with PCP. It didn't feel serious, but I figured a closer look couldn't hurt. Kid's appendix burst at home that weekend - luckily he was okay, no one was upset, but I still felt like I missed something. Like you, I reached out because something felt a little off. At the end of the day, I realized, there are some things that are out of our hands.
1 Article; 4,787 Posts
Like you, I reached out because something felt a little off. At the end of the day, I realized, there are some things that are out of our hands.
This is something that isn't taught in nursing school.."going with your gut." - That feeling that something isn't right even though it may appear so. Many years ago in the ER, I was triage, and a mom brought her 13 year old in, about midnight, because he got up to use the restroom and felt dizzy/unsteady on his feet that evening. The only history of activity was he and another kid were playing earlier in the school day and fell into a chain link fence....no pain, no marks, alert, all vitals were WNL...but something started ringing a bell in my mind that I couldn't explain...they registered and sat in the waiting room but I kept an eye on him (amongst the chaff and ER abuse, at our expense, that fills the waiting room)...anyway, later I looked over at the kid and noticed a faint sheen of perspiration had formed on his forehead/he was leaning over on his mom - and then the siren went off in my head. I yanked him up and dragged him to the only room we had open...in the back of the "fast track." A lot of stuff happened at that point but within one hour the kid was in ICU with a ruptured splenic artery. Prior to that, there he was...sitting there in our ER waiting room bleeding to death. After they were able to tamponade the bleed with about a zillion units of blood he was able to go to surgery for repair and ultimately walked out alive. So....you can't predict the future....but as others have shared - listen to that little voice and "go with your gut."
kidzcare
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Ug, I know that feeling! A couple years ago I had a student who came in from playing outside with pain to his lower leg and after icing it for a bit, he requested to go back outside and I let him. The next day he came in diagnosed with a hairline fracture. I was calling home for every rolled ankle for a month! The mom was not upset so I counted my lucky stars there! This was also a very dramatic student so I took his symptoms with a grain of salt.