That time he needed thirteen stitches in his arm…

Sharing is caring!

A couple of summers ago there was a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie that came out at the theaters. Essentially it gave every child under the sun permission to nunchuck fight with one another in living rooms across the nation.

Having all boys (there are 6 in this house) means one thing… most days I am a referee.

My husband had taken three of our boys to see the new TMNT movie. I want to say it was summer of 2015.

You’ve read the book If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, right?

Same ideas apply here.

If you give some boys a TMNT movie they just might want to come home and reenact every single scene in your living room.

This is where I need to add some backstory. You’ve seen those vintage wooden window frames that people hang in their house and decorate with? Think shabby chic. Well, a friend had given me one and I had every intention of hanging it in our living room as decoration. It was super pretty and had so much vintage history.

I had leaned it up against one of the walls in the living room that was out of the way. At least I thought it was. For days my husband had been asking for me to either decorate with it or get rid of it. He was convinced that no matter how much supervision there was, a kid was going to get hurt if I did not get it up on a wall fast.

Now imagine twin nine-year-old boys reacting TMNT. The two made contact and one sidekicked the other and guess what happened next? Nick fell right into that window of glass and put out his arm to stop himself. Kowabunga!

Blood was everywhere. Thank goodness my husband was still home. Honestly, it was so bad I have no idea what I would have done had I been the only adult home. That much blood makes me freeze in my tracks.

My husband cleaned him up as best as he could. I tried hard to help. He wrapped the arm and sent us on our way to the urgent care center. Rushing kids to the doctor, I can handle. Blood… not so much.

For years we have trusted urgent care to take care of our kids. I have not had an official pediatrician for my kids in about 6.5 years. Urgent care has literally been meeting all of our family’s needs for years.

That arm took thirteen stitches and it was filleted, to say the least.  The entire process, including follow-up and stitch removal, was all handled for a fraction of the cost that some pay for a month of insurance.

We go to urgent care for ear infections, fever, allergies, colds, UTI’s, you name it! We often get to see the same doctor each time.

I am not here to tell you to ditch your pediatrician like we did, but don’t underestimate the power of urgent care (and we are 100% self pay) the next time someone in your home (including littles) is sick.

Better yet, take a look into Solv, which is an online service to help you find the best urgent care facility for you in your area. Visit solvhealth.com on your smartphone or desktop and enter your ailments. The system will then give you recommendations for urgent care facilities in your area based on what is wrong and what specific services you might need (do you need an x-ray, possible broken bone, etc). Something that is SUPER cool is, take a quick picture of your insurance card (if you have insurance). Solv’s technology scans it and ensures you are covered based on the facility you choose to go to. This also helps eliminate some paperwork once you check in… I hate all of those forms we have to complete.

Oh, and I LOVE this… paying out of pocket is no problem at all! Need an appointment at a facility on a weekend evening? No problem, Solv will help you find that! Solv also lists cash prices on every business page so you know what to expect and there are no surprises when you get there — or when you get your bill! This is awesome for families like mine! Same day doctor’s appointments, minus the wait! What a score for busy moms. 

Visit Solv now and get acquainted. You never know when you will need this… could be sooner than you think. 

When is a time that you needed an urgent care facility the most? 

 

 

 

This post is sponsored by Solv, but all opinions are my own and this story is mine!

15 Comments

  1. This is the future of health-care. Its intent is to minimize cost to the patient/insurance holder. I personally think it’s a great idea, as most urgent/emergency care facilities charge from $50-$200 just to be seen, regardless of the urgency. Great post on helping people find urgent care in their area!

    1. We are a cash pay family without insurance and we pay $68 for a visit to our favorite urgent care center. We pay $18 a month for our family to subscribe to their savings plan. Without the savings plan, the visit is $168. Either way, more reasonable than paying out of pocket for stand alone doctor and pedi offices. It is a win-win for us!!

  2. I believe this is going to be the new healthcare way in the coming years. We are with a PPO so we do not have the option of going to those urgent care options. I hope one day that changes because they are so convenient! I think this is a great option for families in situations like yours. Always a few ER visits in our family every summer!

  3. It is great to know that when you really need healthcare you can access it. I think is the way things are moving right now. I rather go to urgent care than to the ER. Er visits should be for those that are really sick and other things can be treated at the urgent care.

    1. I am right there with you Monica. We went to a stand alone ER (these are becoming popular here in Texas) because we thought we might need a MRI (same child different injury… he is our accident prone child apparently because he’s the only one who has had stitches). We were there for over 3 hours, 4 stitches and it cost over 2k!!! Plus you have to pay facility and doctor in those situations. Just makes me love urgent care’s even more!

  4. Urgent Care has been hit or miss for me. I’ve gone for everything from a UTI to treating the finger I smashed in the window. Luckily, urgent care was also there for me mid-migraine when I couldn’t get in to see a physician for several weeks. However, I still believe everyone should have a general provider for check ups, etc. I’ve also waited 1+ hours during most urgent care visits. There are lots of pros/ cons, but it’s a good option to have!

  5. Oh, I would’ve panicked if that happened to my little guy. Our worst emergency was when my daughter surgery stitches busted open. We were nowhere near our hometown either, so that made it even scarier.

  6. Im not going to lie reading the word blood makes me queasy. So sorry your kid had to get 13 stitches because of the TMNT reenactment.I think urgent care is definitely a good option and this site seems like it would be super helpful in the time of an immediate emergency.

  7. We’ve used urgent care frequently too. I really like that Solv has the cash prices listed. It’s always a little iffy walking in for medical care and having no idea what they will charge you. Solv is definitely a winner in my book if it saves on paperwork! Oh my goodness, so much paperwork.

  8. I can just imagine the situation happening. In fact I remember something similar where my daughter was running down the hallway and tripped and fell face first into a picture frame that was made of glass. It was not easy and I had to deal with much of it. It is sad that things like this happen. But then you deal. That’s so great you can pay out of pocket for medical expenses. I know that if I saved up it would be better. It’s not those type I’m worried about. It’s the catastrophic ones that scare me. Anyway, I will have to check into the SOLV app. I have never heard of it before.

  9. Oh my goodness .. I take my hat off to you with all of the boys! Wow. Urgent care is simply the best. We have one too and use it over the doctors office we at all possible. The wait is short, and the level of care is excellent. The time that stands out most was when my father’s hand met the blade of a saw. The nurses at Urgent Care were able to help change the dressings. What a truly wonderful service!

  10. Oh my goodness! You certainly have your hands full! My niece also put her hand through a window when she was younger and it was the scariest thing ever.

    We are fans of using urgentc are. My hubby recently fell off a ladder and we thought he may have broken his ankle. Rather than wait in an emergency room for hours and it wasn’t really an emergency, we opted to go to urgent care. The Solv app sounds wonderful and very helpful. I wish I had it on my phone when my hubby fell. 🙂 Going to check it out now!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *