Today was a total nightmare, but now it's okay.
Now we're all very happy.
What happened is we were hanging out this morning before going to the beach. Then Jack complained that his stomach hurt. I mean he called out to me. I was outside reading.
That worried me immediately. The kid has stomachaches, but not the kind that would make him seek my help and comfort. It's usually more like, Do you want to eat lunch?
Not right now. My stomach hurts.
Or, Do you want to ride bikes?
Not right now. My stomach hurts.
He wanted to lie on the bed. I stayed with him and gave him as much comfort as possible. He was in a lot of pain. He kept moving around trying to get comfortable. Nothing would help. There was nothing that made him feel better. He couldn't concentrate on his computer or video games. He was miserable.
Stomach aches scare me. First of all, I hate vomit. But that wasn't my concern at this point. I was picturing emergency surgery scenarios. And I wasn't alone. Tim became very worried too.
Now, I will say, that we looked up appendicitis; and the symptoms didn't match. Still...I was paranoid about it. I figure not everyone has the same symptoms. I worried that maybe he was an anomaly.
And I was worried it could be something else serious, like an intestinal obstruction. Those scare me a lot.
We decided to take Jack to the medical centre in Foster.
If it weren't for me feeling horribly worried, and having to watch Jack look miserable during the car ride, I would probably have appreciated the chance to personally check out Australia's medical system.
But...
Yeah.
So, we saw the doctor. He asked Jack lots of questions about the pain. He had Jack jump up and down which is a test for appendicitis. Apparently if you have it, the jumping makes you scream in horrible pain. Diagnosis by torture.
The doctor joked around a lot. He asked Jack if he had eaten any crocodile eggs for breakfast. Jack joked back and said yes. The doctor said he's never had a patient admit to that.
He touched Jack's abdomen in various places. Jack didn't cry in pain. He laughed from being ticklish. Then Jack announced he felt better and jumped a few more times.
I joked that the tickling cured him. But later I started thinking, maybe it's not a joke. Maybe the doctor has healing hands.
Anyway....
We're all GREAT now.
Jack is having a post-pain high. I can relate. I've had it before.
I'm in a major post-worrying high. They often result in me breaking down crying, but I've managed not to do that....yet.
I feel a little stupid for dragging Jack to the doctor and wasting the doctor's time. And we'll have a bill to pay. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. And I'm usually NOT the type of person to drag my child or myself to the doctor. I'm usually a wait and see type person. Certain things scare me, though.
* * *
We all decided we feel good enough to NOT miss out on our beach plans. So we're going to drive down to Squeaky Beach. We're going to pack some sandwiches in our cooler, plus some cookies.
I am SO glad that we're doing a beach afternoon rather than a hospital afternoon.
I'm incredibly grateful and I feel we're very lucky.
It's so nice to see Jack happy and running around.
It's horrible seeing your child in pain.
* * *
Squeaky Beach really squeaks. I thought they were just being figurative, or that it was named after a guy named Squeaky.
But no. It squeaks. It makes a crazy noise when you walk.
Jack loved it. It gave me a bit of a headache. I didn't complain, though, because what was I supposed to say, Stop walking?
Jack and Tim swam a bit.
I didn't, because I don't swim with my period, especially not in an ocean. I don't want a shark visit on my conscience.
NOTE: This trip journal is fictional. We are not really in Australia. Some stuff in these posts are based on research. Some stuff is based on my reality. Some stuff is based on past experiences. And some stuff is based on fantasy. The non-trip journal posts ARE true and real…except for my dreams (which are written in purple).
Oh...and also....my 2009 trip reports are about a real trip to Australia. That's all true too.
Now we're all very happy.
What happened is we were hanging out this morning before going to the beach. Then Jack complained that his stomach hurt. I mean he called out to me. I was outside reading.
That worried me immediately. The kid has stomachaches, but not the kind that would make him seek my help and comfort. It's usually more like, Do you want to eat lunch?
Not right now. My stomach hurts.
Or, Do you want to ride bikes?
Not right now. My stomach hurts.
He wanted to lie on the bed. I stayed with him and gave him as much comfort as possible. He was in a lot of pain. He kept moving around trying to get comfortable. Nothing would help. There was nothing that made him feel better. He couldn't concentrate on his computer or video games. He was miserable.
Stomach aches scare me. First of all, I hate vomit. But that wasn't my concern at this point. I was picturing emergency surgery scenarios. And I wasn't alone. Tim became very worried too.
Now, I will say, that we looked up appendicitis; and the symptoms didn't match. Still...I was paranoid about it. I figure not everyone has the same symptoms. I worried that maybe he was an anomaly.
And I was worried it could be something else serious, like an intestinal obstruction. Those scare me a lot.
We decided to take Jack to the medical centre in Foster.
If it weren't for me feeling horribly worried, and having to watch Jack look miserable during the car ride, I would probably have appreciated the chance to personally check out Australia's medical system.
But...
Yeah.
So, we saw the doctor. He asked Jack lots of questions about the pain. He had Jack jump up and down which is a test for appendicitis. Apparently if you have it, the jumping makes you scream in horrible pain. Diagnosis by torture.
The doctor joked around a lot. He asked Jack if he had eaten any crocodile eggs for breakfast. Jack joked back and said yes. The doctor said he's never had a patient admit to that.
He touched Jack's abdomen in various places. Jack didn't cry in pain. He laughed from being ticklish. Then Jack announced he felt better and jumped a few more times.
I joked that the tickling cured him. But later I started thinking, maybe it's not a joke. Maybe the doctor has healing hands.
Anyway....
We're all GREAT now.
Jack is having a post-pain high. I can relate. I've had it before.
I'm in a major post-worrying high. They often result in me breaking down crying, but I've managed not to do that....yet.
I feel a little stupid for dragging Jack to the doctor and wasting the doctor's time. And we'll have a bill to pay. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. And I'm usually NOT the type of person to drag my child or myself to the doctor. I'm usually a wait and see type person. Certain things scare me, though.
* * *
We all decided we feel good enough to NOT miss out on our beach plans. So we're going to drive down to Squeaky Beach. We're going to pack some sandwiches in our cooler, plus some cookies.
I am SO glad that we're doing a beach afternoon rather than a hospital afternoon.
I'm incredibly grateful and I feel we're very lucky.
It's so nice to see Jack happy and running around.
It's horrible seeing your child in pain.
* * *
Squeaky Beach really squeaks. I thought they were just being figurative, or that it was named after a guy named Squeaky.
But no. It squeaks. It makes a crazy noise when you walk.
Jack loved it. It gave me a bit of a headache. I didn't complain, though, because what was I supposed to say, Stop walking?
Jack and Tim swam a bit.
I didn't, because I don't swim with my period, especially not in an ocean. I don't want a shark visit on my conscience.
NOTE: This trip journal is fictional. We are not really in Australia. Some stuff in these posts are based on research. Some stuff is based on my reality. Some stuff is based on past experiences. And some stuff is based on fantasy. The non-trip journal posts ARE true and real…except for my dreams (which are written in purple).
Oh...and also....my 2009 trip reports are about a real trip to Australia. That's all true too.
I never knew jumping was a way to test for appendicitis. That doctor sounds way cool with kids.
ReplyDeleteyes, what Fruitcake said. I still have my appendix at 63, so any tummy tremble freaks me out. good to now know the jumping thing.
ReplyDeleteBig points for your doctor trip - stomach pain must always be investigated.
Fruitcake: Yeah. The doctor was very funny.
ReplyDeleteAnn O'Dyne: Hopefully you'll get to keep your appendix.
It's a scary thing. Not all tummy trouble freaks me out; but that did.
I read online that the jumping thing is a good indicator; but not 100%.
In the real-life story, I actually read about it before going to the doctor. I made Jack jump. He didn't scream in pain; but it was very unpleasant for him. He wasn't happy at all with my request. So I wasn't sure. Then we called my sister who's a nurse-practitioner and she told us to have him jump.
By the time we got to the doctor, it was his third time being made to jump.
Did you ever hear about Toni Collette faking appendicitis? I wonder if she knew about the jumping thing.
Overall, very cool. It makes me want to read two things
ReplyDelete1) Because I like to understand the creative process: an annotated version showing what were actual events, what were based on actual events, what were based on research other stories, and what was made up.
2) Because I'm a fan of the genre: A horror story spinning out of the uneasy feelings and the creepy people outside the window in the middle of the night.
Thank you! And thanks for reading. I too would love to read/see the first...since by now I can't remember where I got most of the stuff.
ReplyDeleteI've been writing my campus Covid isolation screenplay. It was supposed to be horror, but I'm on page 40 and so far nothing extremely creepy has happened.
I actually had this scene where my character is looking out the window and watching students walking from far away. One guy stops...and even though he's too far to be able to see her. And she's too far to see him. He looks up at her, seems to see her, and gives her a malicious grin.
BUT...then I went back and decided I didn't want him to be creepy. So I changed him to him looking at her with interest/curiosity.
I don't know what's wrong with me.
Maybe it will end up not being horror.
Or maybe horror stuff with start happening...and later I'll go back and sprinkle more horror in the beginning?
Anyway...again...thanks for reading!!!
Well, I just read your Colorado search for Dramamine story. THAT is some horror there. And it's actually probably the type of horror I'm going for in my screenplay.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty funny (the not remembering). I'm getting that vibe listening to my old college radio shows recently where I song I played back then is one I don't own and don't recognize...so where did I find it to play?
ReplyDeleteWe rarely have a choice of what we write do we. Forcing stuff always comes out slow and clunky, but when it goes like a fire hose, it is similarly hard to steer. Good luck with the screen play!