Sorry, I’ve Got to Call Them Out

Sorry everyone, I have got to call out a group and I hate to do it but it’s time —> “some” Medical Professionals. I really do love you all, and there are so many things we couldn’t survive as a community without you, but there is this one thing I see pop up. It’s apathy for the non-exciting sports injuries.  

Two weeks ago yesterday, our youngest who is a freshman, was playing his beloved football game at school. Towards the very end of the game during the 4th quarter, our son made a great tackle, but he also took a knee to the center of his chest. You know, of course it was just right where the shoulder pads didn’t cover: in the center. He shook it off until the end of the game (this kid will play through most anything!) We iced him down and watched him overnight and by the next day the very bottom area of his sternum was incredibly swollen; it looked like a tennis ball was under his skin! However, Saturday that was all but gone but still the center of his sternum hurt. We iced it all weekend, which helped, thinking it was just a rib out of place. He thought he was fine. We had a standing chiropractor appointment that following Monday, so we had a plan of care.

Monday that next week took a turn. The Trainer at the school checked him out and said, “no way,” he needs an x-ray now. So I let our chiropractor know what was going on, he agreed, and to the ER & Urgent Care we went. Bad news - both the ER Doctor and the Radiologist diagnosed him with a non-dislocated fractured sternum. Whoa!!!! They told him there was nothing to do but rest, that no cast could be used to treat  it, and his football season was over for the year. Or, maybe not...

So, the next day I make an orthopedist appointment with a local doctor who happens to be one of the doctors on the sidelines at our Varsity games. We talk a lot about “Varsity” and particularly about this [incredible] injury that happened that past Friday night. It was one of those we were all praying for in the stands. Ironically enough, he was the doctor who helped one of our star players with that very serious injury. All good conversation so far. He then asks a series of questions and all of the sudden tells us there’s no way he would have continued to play nor be walking around if he fractured his sternum! He says to us, “if football were almost over I would say just rest anyway and let your body heal, but since I know you want to get back in the game with a few weeks left, we can do a CT Scan.” This was after he told us a CT scan was the equivalent of about 30,000 X-Rays and would rather not put him through that if he didn’t have to. This was also after he belittled the ER & Urgent care doctors for not doing a CT Scan in the first place (on my 14 year old). 

I am a get to the root-cause type of person. I am getting leery and confused because I am there for help, and for options to make my son feel the best he can. The doctor takes us out to a hallway and looks at the X-Ray we brought in. It apparently only showed the side view of his chest instead of both the side view and the front view. He takes one look at his x-ray and says there’s no fracture, at least with this view. After responding like it was MY doing the ER didn’t take two X-Rays (or at least only put one on the imaging disc,) he calls over a fellow doctor, who is also an ER doctor but in “his” office, to confirm with him. We are standing there, in a hallway, sort of excited but also very confused. My son, nor I, know why he STILL has pain, can’t lift his arms, and what was the crazy swelling from? Why does it also still hurt in the middle of his sternum? I was trying to keep my composure and frustration under wraps. We had two, very helpful, ER doctors just days before assure us it was fractured, and now two other doctors [just seeming to trying to be cool and “above it all”] tell us there was no fracture. Mind you, we use the ER & Urgent care facility they belittled “all the time” and they have always been wonderful to us! It was then double-annoying! Who are these guys to degrade their medical opinion anyway?

I finally asked, “then why does he hurt?” My son echoed this statement. It was then that the orthopedist finally remembered, “oh yeah, be human” and offered some pleasant side of bedside manners. He says —> let’s get a CT Scan to rule it out for sure. 👀 I’m sorry, didn’t he just downplay the need for a CT Scan five minutes beforehand? At this point I am so bewildered I want the CT Scan just to make sure my child is safe. I’ll deal with the crappy service later. The orthopedist says we’ll get the CT Scan to rule it out and as long as it shows no break he can play next week. I replied with, even if he still hurts? It was just little talks of let’s wait and see from there. I was over it.

So now we are here this week on Friday, another week later, with no definitive answers from the Friday prior. After the office and/or the imaging office (not our normal imagining company of choice) failed to get the order nor call us for an appointment, I chased the orthopedist office down Monday and set the appointment for Tuesday after school. She sent the order over again, and still the imagine company never got it. This time I had a copy with me at least. I get a copy of a CD before we leave and am told I should hear from the orthopedist within 24 hours. Nope. So I call, it’s now Thursday of this week, and was told the imaging company never sent it over them. They would •••now••• fax a request for the written exam results, but I would have to drive to their other office 40-45 minutes away, if I wanted the results before they were back in the local office. Where is the accountability? Where is the customer service?

So it’s now Friday morning (late Thursday night) on November 20, 2020, and I will be driving this disc down to Dallas to their other office to hopefully hear back at the end of the day to see if my son can play next week or needs to continue to rest. My point in all this venting is to the medical professionals: YOU may be used to seeing this “stuff” every day, but your patients are not. Please try and remember, that even if turns out to be a boring, run of the mill, minor injury, that patient is STILL our baby. It’s still our child who means everything in this world to us. It’s your job to examine and diagnose with empathy. When you forget that, it’s time to take a vacation. 

I’ll update once we finally know if it’s broken or not! #soover2020

Until next time ~ Nikki

My 14 year old MAN-CHILD. ❤️