ER Trip #1

Well today was a milestone day for the Delp family. We had our first trip to the E.R. for Riley. He has been sick for the past few days. Nothing out of the ordinary but he certainly has not been his normal, vehicle-organizing self. Today he was worse than any of the two prior days. He would not let Missy put him down at all. Missy wisely decided to take him to the doctor.

The nurse practictioner (is that like a step in between a nurse and a doctor? - they should call them something less cumbersome like a "noctor") checked Riley out and everything looked fine. That is until she look in his mouth. She then exclaimed, "His throat is a MESS!!!" Not the comforting words you want to hear from your noctor. She immediately left the room and went to confer with a doctor. She came back and told Missy that there seemed to be an abscess on the inside of his throat and that she would need to take Riley to the E.R. (which was conveniently across the street) immediately.

Meanwhile, I am at work singing Christmas music and writing auto policies. I get a call from tearful Missy saying that they are on their way to the E.R. and that a C.H.O.P. (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) doctor was being called to examine him. She said I could stay at work if I wanted to. I was in the car in three minutes.

On the drive up to the hospital, I prayed and thought at warp speed. When I heard lump on my child's throat, I immediately thought worst case scenario. And seeing Riley curled up in Missy's lap in the same E.R. waiting room we sat in hours before he was born with a hospital ID band on his wrist didn't help.

Riley through all of this was a trooper. He was fascinated by the waiting room snack machine. I was fascinated that they could charge $1.50 for a Coke. He proudly told me that his band said "Riley Delp" on it. I prayed that it would be the last time he would have to wear one of those things.

Once we finally got in there, the doctor was wonderful. She was calm and calming (neither of which could be said for the noctor). She looked at his throat and didn't gasp. In fact, she said it looked like he just had a very bad sore throat. They took some tests and a few hours later, we were out the door. Worst case scenario is that he has strept throat and even if that is the case, once he has antibiotics, he will be fine.

For a first trip to the E.R., it could have been a lot worse. I was very relieved to be out of there after only a few hours. It made me step back and thank God that He has protected our family and given us a (relatively) healthy child. It is truly a blessing that we don't deserve and many others don't have.

We got home and Riley kept saying, "Home! Home! Home!" He was very happy to be home again.

That made three of us.