In the course of the morning our son negotiated a paying job with me. Normally we encourage our older teens to get work outside the home. Unfortunately, our visas do not allow either of our two children to take outside employment. Nor do they allow for enrollment in the schools ... which is fine since we had planned to homeschool through high school before we moved.
I digress ... things sped up when I heard my son yell, "Mom, I cut my finger. Meet me in the bathroom." With blood pouring from his left hand ring finger, we rinsed as well as we could, then applied more pressure. Next came a nonstick dressing, gauze and first aid tape. Had to get him seated because of sudden light headedness.
I called our family doctor, and because we were unsure about the depth of the wound, they suggested we visit the Urgent Care. We gathered up our insurance cards, doctor's card, etc. and headed back onto the snowy streets. Angels must have been in front of us because traffic was slower than usual for noontime.
Dropped the kids off at the door of the Urgent Care, and then went to get a parking spot in the garage. When I got back to UC, they had not checked in, wanting to wait for me. I was surprised to see no other folks in the reception area, so we walked right up to the receiving clerk. She reported the injury and then took our insurance information.
Less than 5 minutes later we heard a faint "Peter Rinaldi" and saw the triage nurse. She unwrapped our hasty bandage, looked at the wound, checked for nerve damage, bending, etc. Finally she rewrapped it (much neater than I had done.) Bleeding was still evident, but had slowed considerably. Next came blood pressure and temperature, then instruction to visit the 3rd window.
At that window we had to verify address, my name, doctor's name and phone number. At that time we were told that pediatric patients have their own urgent care. Who knew? We were told that the lack of patients was very, very unusual. Okay, back to waiting, for about 10 minutes.
Next stop was an semi-private examining room. The nurse unwrapped the wound again ... bleeding increased, and she covered it again with a non-stick gauze. Another 10 minutes, and the doctor came in. He had a student paramedic with him. This was great, as it was a quick lesson for us, too, in what he was checking for. He determined that because of the location and depth of the wound stitches were in order.
That probably took a total of 10 minutes, perhaps less. I'd say we spent less than 45 minutes in total from the moment I dropped the kids off, until we drove the car out of the garage.
One side note. We want our children to adopt charitable attitudes. When I came into the Urgent Care reception area after parking the car I commented that it had taken a while because there were no spaces until the 5th floor. Then I mentioned that it was irritating to see several instances of one car occupying 2 spaces. My daughter commented that maybe all the handicap spaces were taken up, and that was how the drivers compensated. Though I disagree with her theory, it was a very kind and charitable attitude to take. I think she is ready for her Confirmation on Sunday, bless her soul!
We're back home, and ready to read the next chapter of "Death Comes for the Archbishop." Hope your own day is running without injury!
