Most days work is just great and I love it.... Then there are the days that are bad days... today was one of those days...
We had a six year old come in today for a follow-follow up... We first saw her on Monday for a swollen toe. Her mother had picked her up after a weekend at her dad's house to find the second to last toe on her right foot swollen to three times its normal size. Obviously infected, we cleaned her up and stuffed the poor child full of antibiotics. But then, last night, horror of horrors, her eight year old sister accidentally (we hope) stepped on her foot and her toe exploded... Even though mom rushed her to the ER and they cleaned and medicated and stitched it up initially it looks like that poor little toe is not going to make it. By this morning the infection had already spread to her bone.
It's really, really hard to tell a parent that her six year old is going to have something amputated, even if it's as little as a toe... People, please, infection is FAST! Don't leave cuts to mend themselves, especially in high risk areas like feet / hands. If this little girl's father hadn't ignored her cut for three days this amputation could have been prevented! Clean and cover wounds. If they start to look / feel puffy and painful, consult your doctor immediately!
Lack of insurance is NOT an excuse. There are free / low cost clinics near most areas. I can list a free clinic right in my home town. Also, ERs are REQUIRED to attend to any emergency who walks through their doors. They are NOT ALLOWED to turn people away due to lack of funding / insurance.
An ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure!
