People! Please......for the love of all things holy.......please, discipline your children. They will thank you for it later. No, I don't mean beat them or spank them for every little thing but you
must be the boss. Period! Not the child. I see this day in and day out..................:
Dehydrated child: Mom says...."he refuses to drink". Um, Hello who's the boss here? You are! Make him drink or give him a swift spanking and let him know that he doesn't have a choice.
Child with temp of 104.2: Mom says........"he either won't take the medicine or he spits it out".....again...Who is the boss? Because funny thing is (sarcasm) that when he goes into febrile seizures because you allow him to refuse medication then guess what happens? Any guesses? Yes, you get a very expensive ambulance ride, IV's, medications and an expensive visit to the ER because "he refuses to take medicine."
My kids didn't like medicine either but they took it because they knew I meant business......and guess what? No ambulance trips and no seizures and no IV fluids. It's an amazing concept really.
Like I said.......I see it all the time but some cases just take the cake. I walk into a pt room a few weeks ago and find a very, very sick kid who will absolutely need an IV immediately and fluids and hospitalization.....she's SICK, she has chronic health problems! She's an older kid. Before I've even had the chance to adequately assess the child the mother tells me to "find someone who knows what they are doing to start the IV" (?!?!?!?!) I respond, politely, with "Ma'am I do this all day long, I assure you I know what I'm doing" Her response? "I don't care, the last time she got an IV they stuck her 9 times before and they had to call the IV team to come do it. I want you to go ahead and call 'the experts'."
Meanwhile........while Mom is laying down the law to me I am scoping out the child's veins. I see a couple that I know without a doubt that I can put an IV in with no problem (it's what I do all day, literally!) I tell Mom in my sweetest nursey voice that
WE are the 'experts", the ER has the most skilled IV placement people in the hospital. The 'IV team ' would laugh at us if we called them to come to the ER to get an IV in for us.
Mom finally agrees to letting me do the IV and I begin to look at the top of the kiddos hand only to be told immediately and under no uncertain terms,
by the child, that I would not be putting an IV in her hand. She wants it "here"..her right AC (inside of the elbow). Fine, I can get one there as well so I commence to doing just that. IV is in, it's good, I am able to draw my labs from it and it flushes like a dream...which means it works.
All is well for about 45 minutes when the child decides she no longer wants it there because she is unable to bend her arm. Mom demands that it be removed immediately......because the kid says so! WTH? #1 if it took
NINE tries to get a good IV last time and we have secured an IV in one attempt why on earth, as her mother, would you allow her to demand that it be removed because s
he can't bend her arm?? Really? Is this a joke? because, really, you're killing me here.
I tell Mom that we do not remove patent (working) IV's, sorry. I end up having to call my manager because Mom is so insistent that it come out NOW! My manager reiterates my denial to remove the IV. The kid has some heavy duty meds coming her way that require the IV on board in order to administer them. Nope! She wants it out and if we won't do it then she will do it herself. Oh Lord help me, I pray.
It just so happens that her room is now ready and the transport team has been called to take her upstairs, where there are NOT IV experts. I have no doubt that once upstairs that the IV will be replaced and very likely will take more than one attempt. I inform Mom of this and she wants to know if I will come upstairs if they are unable to do it in one try and do it myself. Sorry! As much as I hate that your child will be stuck numerous times upstairs, my job is taking care of the children in the ER, now she will likely have to undergo more than just one stick to get a patent IV and YOU, Mom, will be the cause of your child's having to endure numerous attempts. I hope you are happy!
Okay...........end rant. Discipline them, really! Please? and a huge thank you to those who already do.