Waiting to hear from DH in A&E over DS - can anyone offer a handhold?

[Notmeagain24]

I really need a handhold please as I'm going mad with worry.

my little boy is 3.5. My husband has taken him to A & E and I haven't heard from them since they left which was about an hour and twenty minutes ago. The hospital is only 15 mins away. It does have bad signal and I know DH's priority will be making sure DS is ok, but I also know that he wouldn't contact me if it was something bad... he'd be getting it sorted and he'll tell me after the fact. And that's ok! But the anxiety and over thinking it is consuming me right now. It could also be that they are ok and there is just no signal.

The background... DS has had a swollen testicle since last weekend (at least that's when we noticed it). Saw the dr on Monday and he said he thought it was just a hydrocele which is a non urgent issue, it's just fluid. DS does have a scan booked for Tuesday next week to confirm. The rest of this week DS has had a very blocked nose and has been a bit quick to tire... but I thought it was just end of term tiredness and I didn't think much else of it all.

Then today, on a short walk this morning, DS said his tummy felt funny - it was about 11.30. I thought hunger and asked him did he want some nuggets to which he said yes and then ate a second helping.

Mid afternoon he said he had a 'funny' tummy again but went off to play so, again, I thought nothing of it. He ate his dinner well this evening but after that, he mentioned his leg felt funny and then said he felt poorly. Gave him some calpol but not long after he started to cry a little, then suddenly went very pale and sleepy at about 5.45. We brought him upstairs and he fell immediately asleep in my bed.

it only the occurred to me that the swelling and tummy ache might be linked - so we decided to try to wake him. He was then sick.

im a panicker at the best of times but with the swelling and sickness, DH agreed it was worth going down to a and e. I know it could be two separate things - hydrocele and sickness bug. Part of me thinks we might have over reacted. Part of me thinks the two things together are worth being checked urgently. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

i still haven't heard anything from them.
anyone ever experienced similar with their little ones? Anyone here to offer a handhold whilst I wait?

i also have two girls currently in bed - one is 7 and the other almost 2. I'm also 6 months pregnant! Definitely got our hands full. This wasn't the end to Good Friday that I expected!

sorry this is so waffly!! I hope it makes sense

Your ds is in the right place with dh.
Try to distract yourself.
In 2 hours you can call the hospital if you have not heard anything

Hoping all is Ok, I’m sure they’ll just be waiting to be seen as you know what A&E can be like on a holiday day. Look after yourself, Ok?

Thank you both! My two girls have finally dropped off to sleep. I hate when I panic like this because it saps all my patience with the other children and I start getting all ratty wit them and it's not their fault. I think I might make a hot drink whilst I wait for news. I know they could be in for a long wait :( xxx

In my experience the signal in A & E is dreadful. Just keep reminding yourself that the most important thing is that DS is in the right place and you will find out eventually. I know it’s stressful not knowing but if it was something really bad I’m sure DH would have found another way to contact you.

IMO you made the right decision to take him
in. I hope everything is ok and you hear soon.

I hope you hear soon, nothing worse than a poorly child on a bank holiday weekend is there x

Thinking of you, hopefully he’ll be seen soon (if he hasn’t already)

Thank you so much for keeping me company! It's so hard to settle to settle to anything. I just keep scrolling aimlessly 😣

Hope he’s ok and you hear soon

You could always call a&e and ask what’s happening. It’s awful waiting. Hope he is ok

Another stranger just holding your hand and hoping your little one is fine and dandy. He's definitely in the best place xx

What a stressful situation for you. I rely hope he's OK.

How about try an Internet game or something while you wait? Or some crap TV.

Keep posting here if you need to chat for a distraction. Hope everything is OK. He is in the right place and you know signal is bad there, so try not to panic.

It’s probably taking ages with triage etc . Big hugs OP X

Hope he is ok OP. He's definitely in the right place. Can you do something to try and distract yourself / manage the anxiety. I am also a panicky person so I understand how it can take over at times.

you’ve done the right thing getting him checked, it’s so hard but you gotta focus on your girls and that little baby, we’re here for you xx

Hopefully it's just a bug and they will be home at a reasonable hour

dont worry at all about overreacting - it sounds like you did the right thing. Kids get all kinds of pains and feelings muddled so best to get checked. They would have had to faff around parking too so that will take some time. Then triage and wait. Signal is always bad too.

i hope you hear soon. It’s awful waiting ❤️

He's in the right place OP and hopefully you'll hear soon. Our hospital has shocking me terrible coverage too. The only way I could reach my lift home from day surgery was to stand in a cupboard. There was a bit of a queue for the cupboard.

Thank you so much everyone. I have just heard from them - the same message 5 times over so it's definitely a signal issue - it's not torsion or hernia, they think it's probably just a sickness bug. They've given anti sickness and they're watching him now. Not sure whether they will do anything more or just watch him for an hour or so before sending them home. He hasn't said anything more about the swelling but I guess they checked it all to know it's not a hernia or something else.

ohhhh looks like money just went out for the car park, maybe that's them on the way home too.

thank you all so much for keeping me company and passing the time. You've no idea how much I appreciate it

Hope you hear something soon. I think you have definitely done the right thing in getting him checked as with the bank holiday it would be a long wait til Tuesday. I expect they are waiting to be seen.

This is so positive x

Good news OP. Hopefully they’ll be home soon for a big cuddle. It’s heartbreaking when you can’t go with them when they’re poorly xxx

Great news.

He's home and snoring away here next to me. Drs confirmed hydrocele for the swelling and said they think his stomach glands are enflamed from a virus or infection rather than sickness bug specifically as his neck glands are all raised as well. Anyway, he was seen pretty quickly all things considered - except that having no contact felt like an eternity. Thank you all again xxx

Hope he's hime and tucked up in his own bed now.

I've sussed out calling from our a&e (adult ds is a frequent flyer due to his disabilities). It may help others - there's free patient/visitor WiFi at our local hospital. I log into that and set my phone to wi-fi calling. Its not perfect but better than nothing!