First, Do No Harm.

[tripdad]

last wednesday, i left straight from work to a poker tournament my wife and i play at each week. about an hour into it, my mom, who is babysitting, calls and tells me my youngest daughter(just turned 1) has not stopped screaming since she woke up from a nap just after my wife had left.

so, since my wife had about twice the chip stack i had(dumb luck), i volunteered to go home to see if i could get her calmed down.

when i got there, she was still crying, and just wouldn't stop. mom had mentioned she had tugged at her ear a couple times, but there was no fever. and for the previous 2-3 days, my other 3 daughters had passed around an upset stomach that resulted in a bit of vomitting. not knowing which was bothering the youngster, i called her doctor at home. he said to take her to the "fast track" at the hospital emergency room. if she had an ear infection, he wanted the antibiotics started immediately.

so, off i go. we get registered in and all, and by that time, the wee one calmed down considerably, and seemed OK. the nurse proceeded to get all the necessaries...blood pressure, heart rate, etc...which made my daughter cry some more. "next", says the nurse, "we need to get her temperature with an anal thermometer." i asked why it was necessary, and she told me that it was more accurate than other means of getting a child's temperature. "thanks, but no thanks" i said. we'll wait until morning to go to her doctor. he's never shoved anything up her ass. so, i left right then.

now, it may very well be more accurate to get a temp that way, but is 1/2 a degree off accurate going to change any doctor's diagnosis? when my triplets were born, they were in intensive care for the first 10 days of their lives, and no doctor ever stuck a foreign object in their butts. they had constant temperature monitoring by something they stuck on their foreheads. they also taught me to take their temperature at home using a thermometer under the arm. there is also a device that takes a temperature immediately from the inner ear. any of these could have been used with very little discomfort, not to mention it was quite obvious by touching her forehead that she did not have a fever.

all i wanted to know is did she have an ear infection. i couldn't see how inserting something in the poor girl's ass had any bearing on that. was i wrong for leaving, or did i do right by protecting her? <font color="white">BTW, she did not have an ear infection, nor did she have an upset stomach. she had a pebble/small rock in her shoe. </font>

cheers!