Caller ID: Herndon Elementary…

Posted On March 9, 2011

We’ve all been there before.  You are out and about.  Running around. Trying to squeeze in as many things as you can before it’s time to bring the kidders home from school.  The phone rings, and the caller ID says “Herndon Elementary”.   You’re thinking to yourself, good god, what now?  I’ve been called for several miscellaneous reasons. Once, a teacher wouldn’t allow my son to use the restroom, and therefore, he wet himself–nice, I might add.  Seriously, not let the kid go to the bathroom as a kindergartener?? Who are these people?  Or, one of the non urgent matters that have befallen my other son. Unfortunately, my son inherited the same agility as his poor uncoordinated mom, and I’ve been called to say:  “He tripped over something, got bonked in the face by an elbow, got whacked by a wayward ball, etc.”  It’s almost a waste of time on the phone call that they actually need to call me and let me know these things happen.  I guess that’s the product of the litigious society we live in.

But today, as I am running around 15 minutes from home, the call comes in.  Hi there, I’m trying to get hold of Mrs. Welsh–speaking, I say.  Could you please come to the school?  Right there, something’s amiss.  Usually, right off the bat the issue is immediately brought to your attention.  I asked, can you please explain what happened? Er, umm, well the EMT’s are here….WHAT????!!!!  Oh, she says, hold on, it’s ok.  Your son has been shocked by an electrical outlet.  Oh good God above, what has my wonderful boy gotten into now?   Apparently there was something lodged into an outlet that can only operate with a key, and my son’s hand happened to find it’s way to it, and it shocked him.  I asked if he was unconscious, and they said he appears fine and talking, they just need a parent there to advise them what to do.  The race begins, ok, I’ll be on my way, I’m 15 minutes out….

I try to call my husband, who was working from home, and of course, of all times, my phone battery is so low every time I call him, it dies.  I finally managed to text him the message..”EMTs at school meet me there”…being only 2 minutes from school, I was hoping he could get there before I would.  Being that my phone was dying, I had no way of knowing if he got the message…

So, now, the adrenaline is up, the old heart is racing, and I’m trying to think clearly enough to choose the fastest way home, not get killed myself in the process and praying that I make every green light along the way…I arrive a few minutes later, to see the fire engine and the ambulance with their lights ominously blinking out front, and obviously still tending to my boy.

I arrive and see my boy, looking so small on the cot in the nurses room.  He looked so delicate and fragile sitting there….looking ok, but definitely shaken up. Are  you ok?  How did this happen? Come here, give your mama a big hug.  I’m assuming he’s pretty ok since they are still there and not at the hospital during the 15 odd minutes it took for me to get there.  I asked the EMTs to give me the rundown.  They had taken his blood pressure, pulse and EKG, and everything appeared to be normal.  They advised that he be taken to the ER, but were also saying that he was fine in the same breath.  Of course, I tried to call my husband, and he was unreachable both at our home number and via his cell.  So, I had to take matters into my own hands.  Looking at all the evidence, he seemed to be ok, so I had to sign an “against medical advice waiver”–again, that litigious society we live in, and tell them that I’d be following up with my pediatrician when we got home.

As I look him over, he’s got a black mark on his wrist, and a black sooty mark on the sleeve.  The vice principal had mentioned that the lights had flickered and there was also a black mark on the wall near the outlet in question.  The incident happened in a type of outlet that is a raised half circle with a slot that requires inserting a key in order to operate it.  Apparently someone (and the jury is out as to whether it was my own inquisitive boy to begin with) had shoved something into the slot, and he bumped into it causing him to get a nice jolt to the arm. Man oh man, does this kid have nine lives or what?  Based on his early preemie history, he must know someone upstairs pretty well.

I called my family practice and of course, the pediatrician nor his nurse could be reached for an immediate conversation.  I explained it was fairly urgent, and would like a call back to determine if we really needed to follow up with a visit to the ER.  So, here I am, lying in wait, trying to weigh what I should do.  My own best judgement is telling my that he will be fine, but, I guess it’s best to check with the experts.

Upon conferring with one of my dear friends, who I like to bounce things off of because we tend to think alike, and she is definitely a voice of reason, I decided to call back the doctor, and just ask for anyone that is available.  Now why didn’t I think of that in the first place, rather than pace around and wait for them to call me?  She also wisely advised that I would ask what benefit there would be if I was told to visit the dr. or the ER–which is a pure voice of brilliance as far as I am concerned–boy am I lucky to have intelligent women for friends!  Thankfully, when I called and spoke to a living, breathing human being, they actually were incredibly empathetic in nature, and desribed that I should not be alarmed and told me as long as he is aware of himself and surroundings, doesn’t have a headache, isn’t vomitting, and his general overall behavior has not changed, he should be fine.

Whew, another dodge of the bullet, and escaping relatively unscathed from a rather harrowing adventure.  Let’s hope the next time that good old caller ID says Herndon Elementary,  it’ll just be one of the usual benign calls that bring a smile to your face and make you shake your head in wonder that my boy is still alive, healthy and well.