things I would have like to have known before my 3rd trip to the ER

[JenJohnson79]

So my 3 year old hit her head last week on Thursday evening, she was running, tripped over a toy fell into her entertainment center and smacked her head. Didn't think too much of it til she started vomiting an hour later. Spent ALL night in the ER at Texas Children's Hospital. They did a CT scan, told us there was slight swelling of the fluid around her brain, gave her zophrine (sp?) to stop the vomiting and sent us home with instructions to bring her back if vomiting persists. She slept all day Friday except for about a hour of trick or treating.

Saturday night the vomiting starts back up. She hasn't ate anything, not even her Halloween candy, since Thursday evening. She's drinking fluids. So my husband takes her back to TCH ER, they monitor her, zophrine again, tell him from looking at the CT scan from Thursday night that she has a cyst in her brain near the back of her head that we need to make an out patient appointment for a MRI. And they send her home.

In the mean time she's been sleeping 20 hours a day, and not eating still. . .

Yesterday morning she starts vomiting again. So I take her up there demanding answers about the cyst, the vomiting, and everything.

Finally a neorsugeon comes into talk to me, the cyst is nothing. . . keep your MRI appointment (Dec. 23rd), so that if ever does start to bother her, you'll have it on record and something to compare it in size to. She's suffering from post concussion syndrome, the lethargy and vomiting can last for up to two weeks. . .

Well how come the staff made it sound like it was at the utmost importance the MRI be done ASAP, and that the vomiting and sleeping wasn't normal????

Anyway had I known that it was normal, I would have asked for a prescription for zophrine and been miserable at home. . .

[Spec A!]

That sucks. My 4yr old ran smack into the corner of our conference table at work for our company party a few weeks back, split her head open, bled everywhere. Luckily my work is a medical consulting biz, 90% of my coworkers are nurses and PAs and docs. Didn't even go to the ER, steri stripped it, and she was fine an hour later. She (like her daddy) has a tendency to fall and hit her head so we're always worried about concussions, vomiting, and the whole falling asleep into a coma deal. Not fun- sorry you had such a crappy time, hope she gets better soon!

[janetg]

wow - that's really scary - hope she gets better ASAP!

[Coelus]

Might see you up there. My daughter has a ultrasound and ekg scheduled at TCH the same day for her heart problems.

[Lauri]

I would have been doing the same thing you did...I never heard of any of that being normal. I've always heard if they are lethargic, sleeping a lot, not eating, etc...that you should take them in. It also seems weird that Texas Children's Hospital kept sending y'all home. We have used that hospital MANY times and I love it...it's the one thing I truly miss about Houston!

I also hate when they tell you there is something wrong in your, or your child's BRAIN or HEART and you have to wait so long to get any tests done!

I truly hope everything goes well!

JOHN-that goes for you, too!