It was a mystery to mom: her 10 year-old, autistic boy suddenly was rubbing his eyes and crying. When she pried his hands away, she saw that his eyes were red with swollen lids, and he obviously hurt. Was it allergies? Did pink…
She really was in a fix. She spoke only spanish. She was a teenager alone in this country with only her father, and he was pretty mad right now. She was having belly pain and didn't understand why- until I broke it to them that…
It was 5 o'clock, July 2, 1991. I know the date and time because it was the end of my first 36 hour shift as Chief Resident. And it was a true 36 hour shift, not a wink of sleep, with sick kids piling into the hospital like we…
On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the icy Potomac River in Washington during take-off. Joe Stiley, one of the few survivors, saw the crash coming, seeing out his window how the plane was falling to the river…
This week's guest columnist is Dr. Matthew Whittington, a third year resident in the Family Practice program at the University Health Center here in Lafayette. We see a lot of burns in the Pediatric Emergency Department, mostly…
Summer is coming. I last wrote about swimming safety, and two more popular summer activities for kids need to be addressed: biking and jumping on trampolines. Bike safety is nothing new to me. I grew up with a Dad who was a…
One day the ambulance brought in a 13 year-old who had almost drowned in a local hotel pool. He was awake on arrival, but everyone had a good scare. The pool had a deep end but no lifeguard. The boy could not swim, the parents…
My wife grew up here in Lafayette, and has more than one story about teenage friends and acquaintances dying in boating accidents. With teenagers, of course there was alcohol involved. As a Pediatric Emergency Medicine doctor, I…
When we bring a new baby home, we want to do everything to make our new family member comfortable. We got a sheepskin as a shower gift- put it under baby! Cover her with an extra blanket- don't want her to get chilly. Put some…
We all know kids bore easily. All summer if the kids are not occupied with camps, vacations, or friends, they lay about complaining of nothing to do. Believe it or not, children also get bored during a disaster. Of course the…
We were already busy that night- every bed had a sick or injured child in it. The waiting room was also full, full of families clamoring to be seen too. Then, when it always seems the time is wrong, the ambulance phone rang. …
