Thursday, April 02, 2009


MOMENTS YOU DREAD...

There is nothing scarier than sitting beside your child in a hospital bed as they sob, not knowing what is wrong. After a great performance in the Greater Moncton Music Festival today, I took Erin back to school shortly before lunch only to receive a call around 1:30 that she’d almost collapsed in class while giving her oral presentation. I raced to school to pick her up and found her in tears with a blinding headache, almost unable to stand or walk on her own.

Five hours later we are home again and I have nothing but praise for the ER staff at the Moncton Hospital who got her right onto a stretcher in the trauma side and up for a CAT scan in a matter of hours. How thankful I am to live in a country with medicare tonight and for doctors who took her pain seriously, especially when they discovered that pressure on a certain spot at the back of her head made the pain escalate. The doctor immediately reassured her that this was a good sign since it probably meant that it was muscular or nerve related. I feel blessed that the CAT scan revealed nothing internal to worry about. The pinched nerve that had been bothering her earlier in the year has probably just reared its ugly head again in a rather dramatic way. The doctor recommended a stronger anti-inflammatory and a follow-up with our own family physician in a week to explore other options if the pain is still there.

I feel weak with relief and yet also far more sensitive to parents whose answers aren’t always as a relief as what I heard tonight.

5 comments:

Kitty said...

Ouch. Big hugs for Erin and you. I can totally sympathise as I have a back problem that sometimes manifests as excruciating head pains.

Not sure if it's an option on whatever healthcare you guys have, but I've found that osteopathy works wonders for me.

AnnMcD said...

Thank Heavens that they were able to diagnose her pain and relieve your stress! We may complain about our tax system but you can't beat the health care!
Ann from Knowledge and Needles

Rebel In Ontario said...

I'm glad it was nothing more serious...speedy recovery wished all around!

Unknown said...

my goodness, what a scare! I am so glad she is okay though. What a great hospital you have there. ^_^

Lori said...

glad Erin is OK. Scary stuff, right there!