It’s been a few years since I’ve taken a kid to the ER at camp so I was due. The worst part about it is my dang anxiety about driving someone else’s car and not having a clue where I’m going. Now last summers cake hunting helped the anxiety a lot and I now have a phone that yells at me where to turn. However Herc was kind enough to drop us off and come back later and get us.

This ER was crazy, they had you sign in by computer and then wait to be called. The kid I was with was really dehydrated. When they brought her to my room she was barely answering questions. I was trying to get her to drink but after about six ounces she almost threw up so I knew it was IV fluid time. After they called us to triage they took her to a room and got an iv in and within a 1/2 a bag she was much more perky and after 2 full bags she was ready to remove her IV and be discharged. Her nurse was really good and I liked her even though I got the lecture that the leaders should be making the kids drink. Apparently every other patient was dehydration and heat exhaustion. Her room leader felt bad and I said you cannot pour water down the kids throats. If the kids are big enough to spend a week away from home they should be big enough to stay hydrated. We got back around 2 in the morning. I missed the late night music session but I already have the camp music on my phone so it was ok.

Mole moral~It’s good to check out other ER’s to see how they do things. However, there is no place like Mercy.