I've chosen the following prompt: 1) A mom fail moment.
My four-year-old is "super brave," as she puts it.
When she had blood drawn from the vein in her arm, she shed a single tear.
When she had six cavities fixed in one appointment, she hummed the entire time to stay calm.
When she has an upset stomach, she runs to the bathroom and throws up in the toilet and tells me as I come running after her that she's all better and smiles.
So when she had her most recent MMR shot, I did not plan on it being a traumatic experience for her.
I also did not plan on the nurse being new and young and with a case of the shakes.
We entered the scene unaware:
Nurse: "Do you see these three shots? These are the needles I'll be using."
(Nurse holds up each LONG needle in front of my daughter's eyes)
My Super Girl: "They're different colors."
Nurse: "Yes, which one do you want first?"
My Super Girl: (starting to tremble, because the nurse is still showing her the LONG needles) "The blue one."
Me: "Remember, this will only hurt for a second and then the pain will stop."
Nurse: "Okay, I am going to give you the first shot right here."
(The Nurse then proceeds to SLOWLY insert the LONG needle, seriously taking about 10 seconds to put the needle into my daughter's arm.)
My Super Girl: (crying hysterically now)
Nurse: (hand uncontrollably shaking now)
Me: (steam blowing out my ears in rage)
Nurse: "Okay, only two more to go. Which needle do you want next?"
(Nurse holds up the remaining two LONG needles for my daughter to see.)
Me: "Let's just finish this, please."
My Super Girl: (crying so hard she can't talk)
Nurse: (20 seconds later) "Okay, we're all done."
We've had numerous nurses administer numerous shots, and they've always been very quick, 2 seconds tops per shot.
I watched in horror as this nurse took 10 seconds per shot to insert the needles into my daughter's arms.
My daughter ended up getting severe swelling and bruises and complained about the pain deep inside her arms for days.
And I felt so helpless. I kept my mouth shut. I felt like I failed my daughter.
I tried comforting my daughter with words and hugs, but for the nurse I remained silent. I felt bad for him, being new and not knowing the better method for giving shots to children. But if we are assigned to him again for any shots in the future, I will ask our doctor for a different nurse.
There is no way to silence the pain, but I can use my voice to make it hurt less.
26 comments:
Hi K,
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm excited to be in the campaign with you.
I can't believe the nurse showed your daughter the needles. Poor thing!
Oh, your poor daughter. It's so obvious that nurse didn't have kids of his own. I hope she's feeling better now.
Poor girl. Hope she feels better now.
Stopping by here via #writecampaign look forward to getting to know you via your blog.
Super Brave!!
cool and cute girl!!!
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Another Author
I can't believe the nurse would just show her the needles! She is much braver than I am!! Poor girl!
Aw! Poor kid... I absolutely HATED needles when I was younger. I had a similar experience - when I was 10, I was admitted to hospital for a severe case of salmonella and needed an IV. Well, the first nurse they got knew nothing, a total newbie, and she turned my poor arm into a pincushion before the staff finally felt sorry for me and got a pro who got it done in two seconds.
I hope your daughter is feeling better!
That is so heart-breaking for her to have to endure. I give blood every 8 weeks at Red Cross and I have had some bad experiences with a couple of the folks there where they are just too rough and hurt like crazy. The last time, after digging in my arm for a minute, she called for another person to help and they took care of it in 3 seconds.
Believe me, you have to insist on a nurse that knows what they're doing when it comes to your daughter. She may be brave, but, there is no reason for her to have to go thru something like that.
Aww, I don't think this is a "mom fail" moment at all! I think it's a "nurse fail" moment, for sure. Poor kiddo.
Oh my gosh!!!!!!!!!!! What nurse does that??!! I don't care if they are new or not...poor thing.
P.S. That picture is THE BEST!!
We have had such a history of blood draws, shots, and various medical procedures with our daughter. She has never been brave, and I always have to hold her still for them. Talk about feeling like a mom fail.
I have learned to yell at people when they are doing things badly and my children are the ones who suffer. Or me, for that matter.
After all this happened I felt I failed since I didn't speak up. I don't want my daughter to be the one a new nurse practices on. I wish for young children they would only allow nurses who have been doing it for years. I think next time I will find my voice and say that it isn't working and we need a different nurse. I can't stand to see my daughter in pain, no matter how brave she is :)
How horrible! I don't even want to look at the needles and I'm an adult - what person in their right mind would think it wise to flourish them in front of a child? There wasn't anything you could have done, so don't feel bad - asking for another nurse in the middle of it would have just prolonged the experience.
Not a fail!! Especially since you have the sense to get the MMR in three separate shots!! stopping by from Mama Kat
Your poor daughter. I feel so bad just reading the description. Hopefully she won't be scared of needles now.
i'm in absolute tears right now after reading this. i don't understand where that nurse would learn to think of SHOWING the needles and taking SO long to insert and... WOW! i probably would've reacted the same as you- what more could you have really done?? but i do think i would also let someone in that office know what happened so another child wouldn't have to go through that. i get that everyone is New at their jobs at some point but... that's just not right what he did! :( your poor baby and your poor heart!
What a twit! I've never seen a nurse display the needles to a kid... or to an adult, for that matter. Usually, the idea is to get the needle in and get it out with a minimum of angst and fuss.
What a trouper your little girl is. And don't feel like you failed. As Aquariann said, if you had demanded another nurse, the experience would have been prolonged. But I would definitely not let that nurse give your daughter any more shots.
Oh, thats a tough one. Horrible nurse. Fail on her part bigtime.
Ugh! That nurse has a lot to learn. Hugs for your brave girl!
Oh my goodness, who does that? You would think the nurse would've just done it quick to get it over with. I hate needles and always look away so I can imagine how your daughter must've felt.
I can't believe that! Just like the other commenters, I've never had a nurse show my daughters the needles! They are in and out so fast the girls hardly know they've just gotten a shot. I also love how the nurses give them ice pops after the shots are over! Definitely ask for a different nurse next time!
OH... Horrors! That sounds aw-ful! :( I can't even imagine having to go through that. Especially because when we go to the Doctor's office for well checks I usually have all 3 of my kids with me. I think they ALL would have freaked out at that! Do you think you'll ever be able to to get your "super girl" back there again?!?
I am as brave as your girl and I don't think picking sequence of needless would be something I would want to do. Honestly!?!?!
I am so sorry. It has happened to me before, that feeling I should have just said my peace instead of being polite. Not so much for me, but for my child.
Poor girl. What kind of nurse would do that to a 4 year old?
That story was painful to read! Hopefully that nurse has been taken off shot duty. I'm still impressed how your daughter held up. My kids would have run screaming out of the room.
I love your website - lovely photos and stories. I look forward to reading more. I have just joined the Third Writers Platform Campaign.
Oh my word, poor girl! I'm terrified of needles (hello, phobia!); she handled it much better than I would! For some reason, fainting and etc. are not considered proper nor becoming, lol. Maybe she can show off her bruises like battle wounds???
By the way, hello from a fellow Campaigner here, Short Stories. Happy writing, and loved the post...not the needles though! *shudder*
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