Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho...it's Off to the E.R. we go....

Anyway...back to the stuck earring. Imagine my horror when I looked at her ear and realized that the back was not stuck to her ear, but embedded in it!!!!! The earring back was one of those rounded long metal types, and I could only see the end of it! I about freaked out! (though I assure you I did this internally, all the while telling Katrina she would be fine)

So away we went to the Emergency Room with Katrina begging not to go. Begging me to do something at home. Scared to death that they were going to cut her ear off (and of course I was telling her this wasn't going to happen - while wondering if some cutting was going to be in order to remove the earring back).

Saturday night at 9 pm is not the time one wants to be heading to the E.R. The personnel at the hospital were lovely and they were swamped. It was about an hour before we were called in to see the triage nurse and get vitals taken. Then it was about another hour before we saw the Dr. the first time. Meanwhile there were crying babies (a lot of children were there) and a man in the room across the way who looked like he had either been in an accident or hit in the head with something...his glasses were busted, he was bleeding a lot and there appeared to be a cut on his face. However, it must looked worse than it was because the staff wasn't swarming over him. And then a reluctant prisoner was brought in by several deputies. We got to see all of this through our open door...wish they had closed that, though I will say that when the prisoner was brought in, the nurse was with us and realizing Katrina was a bit scared, she shut the door. Thanks!

So, Dr. Nielson (who had an excellent bed side manner- apologized for the long wait, congratulated Katrina on being brave and apologized to me when blood and lydocaine ran down her face and thanked me for helping him by comforting her), finally had all of the necessary implements to remove the earring. He gave us the choice of lydocaine or just pulling it out. I told him I thought the numbing would be best and he agreed but said he liked to give patients the choice.

Katrina was not happy about having a needle stuck into her ear and informed me that she couldn't do this. I assured her that she was brave and it wouldn't be that bad and to hang in there. It's hard to get a needle into an ear lobe. some of the medicine leaked out along with the blood that was seeping around the earring and ran down her face. I didn't want her to be freaked by the blood, so I was using my hands to make it run the other way...She was not a happy camper, but she stayed still while she kept asking if they were done yet.

Once the ear was numb, he pulled the earring out, along with some skin. She now has a big hole in the back of her ear and we are to let her ears heal, the holes to grow shut and try the piercing again somewhere down the road. Katrina's ear bled a little, they put on some neosporin and prescribed a week of oral antibiotics.

It was close to 1:00 when we got back to the apartment. And bless that child's heart, she drank her nasty tasting Keflex with only small complaint. I have to chase this child down to give her medicine of any kind. She hates it. I was very proud of her. And I did purchase her a cute Rescue Me Pet as a reward for her being so brave.

Of course, I spent the time feeling like a bad mother for not realizing this whole thing to begin with before it got so far. But she was doing so well with her earrings, I have only been spot checking them.

Has anyone ever heard of such a thing happening? Katrina has thick earlobes and I don't know if that contributed to it or what... But I had not idea such a thing could happen. YIKES!