Children Can't Wait – WakeMed

This post is the seventh in a series of true stories about children’s health care at WakeMed.

Don’s mom, Denise, shares her family’s experiences at WakeMed Children’s.

September 18, 2009 was a day 14-year-old Don would never forget. He jumped on his Yamaha Rhino, an off-road vehicle, and drove down to see the geese that had just landed on the pond near our house.

After 5 years of driving his ATV utility vehicle, he felt confident in his driving skills – even after watching a national news story just weeks earlier on the prevalence of Yamaha Rhino accidents and roll-overs. He soon realized the meaning of the word ‘accident’ as his Rhino suddenly flipped over on that September afternoon.

He was taken immediately to WakeMed’s Children Emergency Department where he quickly received a CT and found out he had a crushed spleen, bruised lung and broken several ribs.  He was in unbearable pain.

The team of trauma doctors was remarkable. Initially, it appeared that Don’s condition would require surgery to remove his damaged spleen. However, while understanding that surgery may be necessary at any time, Don’s physicians decided to monitor his condition in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.  I am so thankful that they chose that option in order to save his spleen.

From the moment Don entered the ED, the entire WakeMed staff demonstrated the utmost compassion and attention – especially his nurses Pat, Mandy and Rita who were gentle, caring and kept Don smiling through the pain. Dr. Goodwin, one of the physicians caring for Don, had a contagious sense of humor and a remarkable ability to communicate with teenage patients.

It was a mother’s nightmare to get a call that my child had been in an accident. Yet, WakeMed was a blessing because all of the staff worked as a team to meet the medical needs of my son during a critical time. Not only did WakeMed take remarkable care of my son, but they were conscious of our needs as a family.

Where else can you find such personal attention and compassion from beginning to the end?  Nowhere, except WakeMed.

This post is the fifth in a series of true stories about children’s health care at WakeMed.

One day, Lisa got a curious call from her child’s day care center in Henderson, North Carolina.  Her son, Matthew, had a low-grade fever and was complaining of leg pain.  She quickly left work to pick up her son, but by the time she arrived at the day care center, Matthew was in agony.

“Whatever he had, had gotten worse,” Lisa recalled. “I got scared and took him to the emergency room.”

Doctors at the local community hospital were stumped by Matthew’s symptoms, but they knew the pediatric specialists at WakeMed Children’s Emergency Department could get to the root of the problem.

At the WakeMed Children’s ED, Matthew saw several physicians, had some tests, and within a couple of hours, received a diagnosis: septic hip.  Septic hip is a serious bacterial infection of the hip joint that is more often seen in adults than children.

Matthew’s infection was so severe that he required surgery.  His doctors later told Lisa that if the condition had gone untreated much longer, Matthew could have lost his leg.  After a stay in the hospital and six weeks of intravenous antibiotic therapy at home, Matthew was pronounced infection-free.  He and his mother encountered many caregivers during his ordeal.  They are thankful that Matthew and all the children in our region have access to specialized pediatric services at WakeMed Children’s.

“As a nurse, I know good care when I see it, and everyone we encountered — every nurse, doctor, radiology technician, home care services, respiratory and physical therapists, even the people who brought him his meals — was absolutely wonderful,” Lisa said.

Today, Matthew runs, plays, and giggles like a typical little boy, but his mom can’t shake the knowledge that his story could have had a very different ending.  “I shudder to think what would have happened if they hadn’t decided to send us to WakeMed,” she said.