First of all, let me say that I'm so thankful to our Good Lord in Heaven that I still have my lil' mess of a boy. I don't know what my life would be without him.
I am a mom of 2 children, Claira (4) and Jasper (2). In Feb of 2012, Jasper, 22 months old at the time, started complaining of his belly hurting after we went to bed. It was about every 20 min or so that he would complain and say "hurt right here" and point to his lower abdomen. I dismissed it as gas and constipation. So "Daddy" went to the store at 2 a.m. for some gas reliever and a laxitive. The next day, he was still complaining. I took him to our small, local, out-dated ER to see what was causing this. They diagnosed him with Pneumonia, which he did have, and didn't show much concern in his cramps. On day 3 of this, I took him back to the same ER and told them he was complaining more often. Again, they just dismissed my concerns and "eased" my mind by saying that young children have sensitive digestive systems, that it may just be colic, or he may be doing it for attention, after all, he isn't throwing up or having irregular bowel movements. I knew better, but you are suppose to trust the doctor, right? I went back to the store and bought some Gripe Water thinking it may settle his stomach. It didn't. On the 4th day, I took him to a neighboring town to a larger hospital. Finally, someone was concerned. After a CT scan of his abdomen, they found out he had Intussusception. It WAS something serious! My "mommy sense" was right. We were to be transported to the Arkansas Children's Hospital immediately, however all of the helicopters were grounded by the strong storms that we were experiencing. So we had to wait 3 hours for a ACH ambulance to come and pick and take us by ground for another 3 hours. They got him right in and done an air-enema shortly after we arrived. If I had waited 1 more day before I took him to the other ER, I probably wouldn't have him here today. I was so glad to see that there are people fighting for better pediatric service in the ER! Jasper just celebrated his 2nd birthday on May 20, and he is happy and healthy! I'm so greatful to the Arkansas Children's Hospital. I pray that we never have to go there again, but it is a wonderful place filled with amazing people ;)