ER Visits

[mimitabby]

geez, you guys, i feel queasy after reading all this.
The last half dozen times i've been to ER it was because of one of my sons or my husband.
and my husband outdid my kids.

[MomOnBike]

Only one, but memorable.

I had a glass shatter in my had while washing dishes one night. Deep cut, we couldn't stop the bleeding. ER trip was in order.

The complication was that we (DH & I) were playing a concert that night, so time was a factor. We loaded up the bass, horn, kids, & concert blacks, and headed into town, 30 miles away. Got the thumb stitched in time to go play the concert. I had to borrow a different (German) bow, I couldn't hold my French bow, and having my hand down in playing position was no fun. (Throb, throb, throb - not in time with the music, either.)

What I remember most about the incident, though was Elder Daughter's warning as I was heading out the door: "Don't bleed on your bass, Mommy!"

We know our priorities in our family.

I probably should have gone in the time I fell on the ice & hit my head - and didn't recognise my front door when they walked me home....

[mtbdarby]

Nothing too major:

age 7 - did a flip off the top of the monkey bars and landed flat on my chest with my right hand bent up to touch my forearm. Broken wrist.

college - couple of misc stuff (bladder infections, bronchitis, etc), couldn't stop hyperventilating one day. Chased my niece around the house barefoot and caught my foot on a corner breaking a few toes (my family still gives me the "no running in the house" banter).

I had the stomach flu so bad once I had my neighbor take my son to daycare. Around 3pm dc called and I had to pick him up because he was running a fever. I threw up 3 times just trying to get to the car. Got there and called them to bring him outside and put him in his car seat. Took him to the ER where I christened their doorstep (picture ds rubbing my back saying "it's ok mom, you'll feel better". Then looking at what I did and saying yucky ). When I brought him in they asked me what I was there for. Nothing, my son is sick. They took us both . He had an ear infection and I got 3 iv bags and an antinausia shot. They made me eat a popsicle which I promtly gave back to them That was a VERY long day.....

I prefer to give my bike related injuries to the walk in. I've asked for a punch card of buy 10 get one free but they just laughed....

[Bluetree]

Once, I had chest pain when running on a treadmill. Boy, do they take you in fast when you say "chest pain" - and I was only about 32 y.o.! 'twas nothing...a pulled muscle.

I had that happen too! I woke up in the middle of the night with sharp stabbing pains in my chest (roughly heart area). Luckily, the BF was a doctor and quickly realized that I had injured my collarbone during an earlier workout. It had become inflamed during the night and the mere act of my breathing was moving bone/tissue in ways it didn't want to be moved. Scary!

[GLC1968]

From the bike: zero
As a child: many...too many to count!

As an adult:
1) I played rugby in college and had many a trip to the ER with other teammates...only went once for myself and it was in an ambulance. Trashed everything in my ankle...was screaming in pain. Not pretty.

2) When bartending I broke a wine glass in my hands under the water (while washing it) and just about sliced off my index finger before realizing what had happened. Got 4 stitches and a lovely scar. It was really cool to watch them stitch me up.

3) Making iced tea...accidently poured a pot of boiling water over my wrist because the pitcher tipped over. I suffered through the pain for 2 days until the purple color of my wrist started to scare me. Went to the ER...2nd degree burns. Not much they could do but they gave me some white stuff that really, really worked!

4) Car accident - a woman blew through a stop sign, into me, in the dark and rain, and sent my car into a phone pole. I was ok but taken to the ER in ambulance...I had to pee when I left work but didn't and was strapped to a back board for like 3 hours because of a back up. No one would give me a bed pan. My neck was fine, but my bladder was killing me!!!

5) Snowboarding accident. I fell, on ice...fractured my elbow. It still hurts on long bike rides...

[maillotpois]

1. Tried to make a thumb and cheese sandwich in law school.

2. Broke a vase and got a very deep laceration.

3. Last month a week after being released from hospital for the pulmonary emboli, I had severe chest pain - worse than anything - and went to ER to be safe. CT scan (#2 for the week!) showed nothing different, So it was pleurisy that stayed with me for about 2 - 3 more days. Boy that was so painful!!

[SheFly]

Also a few too many to count, but a couple I thought you would enjoy.

In 6th grade, was riding my 3-speed (think metallic blue with fancy banana seat) home from my friends house, wearing flip flops. Foot came off pedal and into spoke - cut the bottom of my foot off. Let me tell you how painful it was getting the road grit out of that wound! Lesson learned - NEVER ride bike in flip flops!

About 5 years ago, went to the DR due to severe abdominal pain. He sent me to ER to have an ultrasound. Drove myself there and waited around. ER doc finally came in, did an exam and declared they were taking out my appendix! Frantic call to DH to come to hospital. By then, the on-duty OB GYN came through and they did an ultrasound to discover that I had an ovarian cyst. Ended up having to spend the night in the hospital, but at least I still have my appendix.

Three years ago DH and I were building an addition on our vacation home. We had put in the ridge pole for the cathedral ceiling, and were starting on the roof rafters. Think 6"x8"x10' from 14'up. DH on ladder against ridge pole, and me handing rafters up to him. As he shifted, one of the rafters fell, hitting me directly in the forehead. No hospital in town, so went to the clinic. It's amazing how quickly you are treated when you have a gaping head wound! Doc took a look and decided to STAPLE my head. First came a LOT of novacaine. One staple, two staples, three staples - Oops! What do you mean, "Oops"? Apparently the third staple didn't go in quite right. They spent the next 1/2 hour trying to get it to come back out. By that point the novacaine had worn off, so when the next staple went in, I felt it! I told them to just keep going at that point, so I felt the remaining 7 (of 9) staples going into my head. Looked like Frankenstein after that one, and wore a hard hat on the job thereafter!

No bike related visits as yet (touching wood!).

SheFly

[HillSlugger]

Numerous times as a child: I was always seeming to get fingers caught in doors.

Graduate school: cut open my hand on a broken pipette (2 stiches). should have also gone when I sliced open my finger with a razor blade

Three years ago: fell while ice skating (in July!) and hit my head (21 stitches)

[Bikingmomof3]

ER? Too many visits to count. One was for my gall bladder (resulted in emergency surgery), every other time was for a migraine with complications all resulted in a CT scan or MRI.

I have also been to the ER with DH and the boys for typical kid stuff (yes, my DH counts as a kid. )

[bcipam]

Should I feel bad since I'm like the only one with bike related ER visits? Maybe I am a clutz!!!!!!!!

[Deanna]

BCIpam - you're not the only one with bike related incidents.

1. As a child, I got a "splinter" while running around barefoot. Said splinter entered the ball of my foot and exited through my second toe. They had to strap me down to get it out. I haven't walked or run barefoot outside since.
2. Bike related: When I broke my wrist last year
3. Bike related: Taking my husband to get an insect out of his ear--it flew in during a bike ride. I count it as I had to wait there while kids puked on the floor beside me.
4. Bike related: Took a turn into a driveway too quick at night, hit the sidewalk cutout at the wrong angle and split my chin open, needed stitches.

[melissam]

Bike related (so bcipam feels better ): Ambulance ride into ER because of broken femur that occurred while riding my bike.

Non-bike related:
- broken collarbone from falling off a chair. I was only three, but it was an early sign of what a clutz I would be throughout life.

- had to get my hand looked at after it had gotten run over by the front wheel of a parked trailer. No broken bones, and no stitches required. I was 8, but I really don't want to talk about why my hand got run over by a trailer.

- a group of friends in college knew of a great place to go party for the afternoon. To get there, you had to go over a barbed wire fence. Getting there was no problem, getting back over was -- after the party and all. To the ER -- no stitches required, but got a tetanus shot as a precautionary measure.

- making softball a contact sport. (Really smart if you're 5'1" and ~115 lbs!) Ran into a teammate while trying to catch a linedrive. Her open mouth & teeth went around my right eye. Boy, head wounds sure bleed a lot!! Stitches to close the cut above and below my eye. Had a huge shiner for a while -- people would come up to me asking if I was being abused. Nope, just softball. But I encouraged them to keep asking, because if I was being abused, I'd hope someone would be willing to show me how to find help.

[maillotpois]

BCIpam - you're not the only one with bike related incidents.

1. As a child, I got a "splinter" while running around barefoot. Said splinter entered the ball of my foot and exited through my second toe. They had to strap me down to get it out. I haven't walked or run barefoot outside since.
2. Bike related: When I broke my wrist last year
3. Bike related: Taking my husband to get an insect out of his ear--it flew in during a bike ride. I count it as I had to wait there while kids puked on the floor beside me.
4. Bike related: Took a turn into a driveway too quick at night, hit the sidewalk cutout at the wrong angle and split my chin open, needed stitches.

OMG Deanna! The first one made me cringe!!!

[Fredwina]

All of my trips(that I remember) have been bike related
1. Was hit by a car running stop sign - broke wrist - Went to where I was employed at the time - Had to covince the ER satf that I was there as a patient, and not an employee.
2. Was descending and and hot some fresh rocks n' tar/Chip seal. Had laceratorions from glasses (Had clip on sunglasses and the clips did it) and on the knee. I did this a block from a Rescue Squad. Got loaded into the Ambulance. Also Broke my left pinky finger
3. Three weeks ago, I fell in a paceline and cracked my humerus. Drove 40 miles back to the ER closest to where I live(on the advice of a MD). Still recovering

[DeniseGoldberg]

Should I feel bad since I'm like the only one with bike related ER visits? Maybe I am a clutz!!!!!!!!

Uh, my only ER visit was bike related. I can tell you from experience that it's really not a good idea to flip your bike forward (as in I think my front tire got caught, and the bike and I kept going) and to then land on your head. (It's a really good thing my poor head was covered by a helmet!) I was actually in 2 ERs for that accident but I have no memory of either. Oh, and I missed the helicopter ride too. You're right, I was there, I just don't remember it.

Please - don't feel that you are alone!

--- Denise