Our ER Practice Drill

Today while I was working on schoolwork with Bella, Addie and Jacob were busy playing in the laundry baskets in the living room. The next thing I hear is Jacob screaming, and he comes into the schoolroom holding a limp arm. Over his screaming I ask Addie what happened, and she said she was just pulling on his arm to help him out of the basket. From all appearances, it looked like his elbow had been pulled out of socket. When Jacob was younger, he had Nursemaid's Elbow. His elbow would pop out quite frequently and Jake would rotate and massage it back into place. So that's what I tried to do. However, Jacob's screaming only intensified and his arm continued to hang limply by his side. Great. I called my friend to ask her advice on ER protocol with our base clinic vs. the Air Force hospital vs. the nearby public hospital. She offered to watch the other children and so I dropped them off (down the street) and headed toward the hospital. As I headed down the road I called the base clinic on my cell phone to inquire about ER protocol. Meanwhile, I notice Jacob has stopped screaming and looking in the mirror I notice that he is already sleeping in his car seat. Once I find out what to do/where to go and hang up the phone, I say a prayer of thanks to God. It went something like this,

Thank you, Lord, for a peacefully sleeping boy. Thank you for a friend to watch my children. Thank you for letting me speak to a competent and understanding receptionist at the clinic. Thank you for non-threatening emergencies. Thank you for peace of mind and calmness in my heart. 

We arrive at the hospital and when I wake Jacob up, suddenly all is well with the world. He is calm. He picks up his arm and it's functioning again. I feel it, ask him if it hurts, make him hang on my hands, and all seems well. So I tell him that we should just go back and pick up his sisters and Will, and he says, emphatically, "No! I want to go in there!" And he thrusts his "hurt" arm and points adamantly toward the hospital. I laugh. Oh Jacob, clearly you are not hurt anymore! So we load back up and head on home.

In hindsight, maybe I did pop it back in place while I was massaging it... as the info says when it gets back in place the pain will intensify shortly and all should be well within approximately 5 minutes. Or perhaps he was just so exhausted that he cried extra hard for no reason? I was so sure that it had popped out, but oh well. For now, I am just thankful that he is fine, all is well, and I can say that I have officially completed my ER practice drill. Let's pray that I won't have to make a real trip anytime soon, though!