"Mommy, It hurts"

...Matthew informed me at dinner. The pain in his abdomen hit so suddenly. After a trip to the bathroom, the pain continued and Matthew was unable to stand upright. We got Matthew to couch, had him lay down and I gently poked and pushed to see where the pain was centered. It was on the right side and boy was it tender. Matthew moaned and yelled and crawled on the floor to the office where I was on the phone with the nurse from Children's Healthcare. The nurse told me to take Matthew to the ER as she was concerned about possible appendicitis. So, off we went.
We got to Kennestone pediatric ER within 20 minutes and was it PACKED! There were kids with stomach flu, broken ankles, dog bites, diaper rash and obnoxious, overbearing parents. Matthew felt better laying down and that's what he did while watching TV. At one point a very, very horrible smell (and green cloud) seemed to seep from Matthew. I asked if he needed to go potty and he said yes. Into the bathroom we went. Normally I would give him privacy but I wanted to know what he did so I could tell the doctor. Confused, Matthew asked, "why are you watching me?"
Well after the potty visit Matthew's pain went away. Hmm, maybe not appendicitis after all! After about an hour and half wait we got in to see the doctor. After a review of his symptoms and listen to his belly the "tentative" diagnosis was made---constipation! We were sent for an x-ray just to be sure.
Matthew was funny when the x-ray tech took him into the room. He was frightened and yelled. He did NOT want to get on the table. We finally got him up there. His fears vanished when the tech adjusted the table and Matthew went for a ride--he giggled!
The x-ray confirmed the doctor's diagnosis. We were told to eat lots of fruits, veggies and drink lots of water. I told the doctor Matthew's diet is full of those items. She asked if Matthew drank lots of milk (he does, he loves it!). She told me to cut out the dairy for awhile. She said that Matthew's system wasn't used to the milk or the amount of food that he is now eating.
So, we've cut out the yogurt, milk and cheese starting today and loaded up with raisins, watermelon and veggies. We also gave him some Milk of Magnesia. Poor sweet Matthew showed me his belly today and said, "I have a baby"--he definitely has a distended tummy.
We're glad that he didn't have appendicitis and have learned that we must monitor Matthew much more closely. I never thought I'd have to ask him, like I used to when the girls were younger, "did you make a poopy today"??!!
On a side note, at the hospital, once we were put into a room, the doctor saw us quickly, the x-ray techs were quick and professional but the nurses were AWFUL! When the doctor informed us that we could go home as soon as our paperwork was finished, we waited 25 more minutes AND then were moved out of the room into the hallway to allow another patient to be seen. I asked a tech how much longer we had to wait and he indicated that "one nurse had to sign the paperwork, please give us 5 more minutes". Well five minutes later I gathered our stuff and told the tech and the nurses that we were leaving. Surprised, they said, "your paperwork is right here, it just needs to be signed." On my way out I told them I wasn't waiting for a signature, that I had waited long enough. I intend to contact the ER supervisor this coming week. I am SO tired of being treated as if my time is not important. I have a story, in the same vein, about our visit to the craniofacial clinic at Scottish RIte that I'll save for next week. Like Jack Lemon screamed, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"