Doctor! Every hole has been violated!

After my wonderful dinner, I arrived home around 9 PM and it was near bed time. I was exhausted, still not feeling well, and dressed quickly for bed. As I was making the boys their final cups of milk, we noticed Roman was unusually cranky. He crawled up next to Jude in the recliner and had the shakes. I felt his head and he didn't feel hot, so we just sat and watched him. He wasn't acting 'normal'. I decided to take his temperature anyway. It was 103.6! Jude and I were worried and decided to take him to the kids hospital in town. Cullen was at his dads for the night so we dropped Aiden off at his Nanny's and were on our way. We arrived around 10:45 PM. As we pulled into the parking lot, Roman decided to hurl some foul smelling chunks all over himself, his warm blanket and clean pj's, Jude, the car, etc. It was awful. We stripped him down to his diaper and brought him in to the emergency room wearing my half puked on sweatshirt. Now, since this "Swine Flu" epidemic, there were way more people in there than there should have been. The place was busy! We signed in and waited. A janitor passed by and brought us a sheet to cover Roman in; I hadn't pack any extra clothes. I thought that was extremely nice. So, as we waited, we watched more people come in and others get frustrated and leave. It had been two hours and the same people were still just sitting. I asked the girl behind the desk if she knew a wait time. She informed me eight ambulances had come in the past hour and they get first dibs in treatment. Great! Roman still had fever and was uncomfortable, tossing and turning. It is hard to hold 32 pounds in your arms for hours, even if you take turns. Around 1:30 a.m., Roman and I went out to the car to sit in the dark, away from the fluorescent lighting, and relax. He fell asleep about 2 a.m. and we were finally called back fifteen minutes later. As we walked back in the hospital, I noticed it had emptied out some. As we approached the doors into the back, Roman barfed all over me in the waiting room. It was vile! Now we both needed changing. The lovely nurse, Jennifer, gave us both stylish hospital gowns. Nice. Oh, and I still smelled like throw up.
It is 2:30 a.m. and the doctor comes in. She says it could be a stomach virus but she wants to rule out the flu and the possibility of a urinary tract infection. Good. Then they inform me how they are going to make this happen. OMG! First, they are going to stick some solution up his nose and vacuum it out. Then, they are going to take a two inch tube and give him a catheter. Holy tubes! Ouch. That gets done, but not with out mommy feeling like she is going to pass out. The results=no flu, no urine issues at first look, results take a few days.
Next, they decided to take some blood. The nurse, Jennifer, finds the arm she wants to stick and then starts digging for a baby vein. I see a bulge developing in his arm, he is screaming and she says, quote, "It popped." The look on my face must say everything running through my mind because her assistant says "It is common, it's okay, we just need to try another vein." Me, well I am about to pass out again. I can get poked and stuck all day but it is super hard to watch my children endure pain. I immediately get light headed. She pokes him in another spot, fails, in my head I reason that she is trying to find tiny little veins and it MUST be hard, and on the third attempt, she is successful. They also hook him up to an i.v. for fluids. It is 4 a.m. and they are not done yet. Blood results are still pending but his white blood cell count is 30,000 and it should be 15,000. (Didn't Xander just go through this exact same thing?) Now they want to take x-rays; one of him lying down, one standing up. The fluid bag is empty, an antibiotic has been administered through the tube, the x-rays are over after many attempts for the perfect picture and we are back to our seventy two square foot room. I finally go out looking for the doctor because it had been over an hour and a half of us just sitting there miserably without an update. She informs me the x-rays show his bowels are impacted and she would like Jennifer to give him an enema. That's it! She has intruded, invaded, violated every hole on my little man. It got to the point when Roman saw the nurse, he flinched in disgust and would hide his face. She is definitely on his naughty list!
Let's recap:
The ears and throat were inspected, as common practice
The nose was flushed for the flu sample
The penis was catheterized
The bowels disrupted with an enema
Three new holes created with the needles
We sat in the torture chambers till 7:30 a.m., then the new shift came on and sent us on our way. Yes, we both entered the world of light in our fabulous new hospital gowns, tired as all hell, eager to get home, with daddy chauffeuring us. We all got some shut eye from 8 a.m. till 2:30 PM. Then, Roman decided he rested enough and was up playing with socks on his hands, as he does every morning that he wakes on his own. He has not thrown up since we left the hospital and he doesn't feel warm. I refuse to stick him with anything today. Period. He is playing it up, hanging out at home, all alone, communicating with me a lot more today than he ever has. He will get the royal treatment for the next few days. Well, at least through today. :)

I have taken my children to emergency rooms/urgent care and have been dismissed almost immediately saying to monitor the fever, give fluids, and call the pediatrician in the morning. I leave feeling like I just wasted money. Last night was the total opposite. I cannot wait to see this hospital bill. Wasted money? The end result was the same as if we would have stayed for a short visit.

Which is better? Or, should I say, worse?

Being shoved out the door at e.r. or being held captive for a nine hour shift?

Makes you think!!