the Cost of Emergency Medical Procedures

After playing in mud puddles for most of the day, my son was sent to take a shower. At the time we had non slip decals for the bottom of the tub, but they were bad about coming up and not staying stuck. When he started to get out of the tub he slipped and fell, hitting his head on the tub. Since it was early enough that the doctor's offices were still open, we took him to our family physician.

There was a huge knot coming up by this time on the back of my son's head, so to make sure that there was no swelling in the brain, we were sent to the hopsital for a CAT scan.

Our local hospital is hopelessly stuck in the past on most things, but thankfully I was allowed to stay in the "control room" right beside where my son was undergoing his CAT scan. I was able to see the images as they appeared on the computer screen. That was an extremely humbling experience, how your baby can be reduced to an impersonal image of bones and teeth. Horrible! In any case, there was no swelling evident and we were allowed to return home with one major difference: we now have an extra large mat for the bottom of our bathtub.

If you doctor's office is still open when you have an emergency, go to them first. They already have all of your pertinent information and, even if they send you on to a hospital or another clinic, they can send your info as well, saving precious time.