ER

There are several ways to approach visiting a new place, especially a major tourist destination such as London. One can visit only those attractions which are listed in the guide books and stick to restaurants that cater to foreigners. Or one can venture off the beaten path...try to figure out where the locals eat, for example. I'm proud to say that usually we take the road less traveled and explore the side streets, so to speak.

What I did not plan on was visiting the London Emergency Room.

About 5pm on Wednesday afternoon, our final full day in the UK, while I was waiting in line to buy fresh grapes and bananas, I heard a scream and turned just in time to see Erika's feet fly upward. The depth of the cry that followed instantly told me something was terribly wrong. In the nanosecond between dropping the fruit and picking her up, I assumed that her front teeth and nose were crushed. To my relief, they were not. Her forehead and hands alone had taken the weight of the fall. She had merely been running down the sidewalk when she tripped and fell, probably due to the cheap Chinese shoes she was wearing, the ones we had bought at the outdoor market in Bishkek. Blake has often warned me about those things. I'll listen this time.

We took her and the other 5 kids home immediately. She rested on the sofa with an ice pack. We gave her children's pain reliever. Before long she ran upstairs and complained of nausea and blurry vision, and that's when Joni and I looked at each other and thought, "Concussion?" I just couldn't believe this had happened. We were scheduled to fly in about 18 hours. [The previous day I had taken Zachary to the Underground restroom before we got on the train headed home. He did his business and we were washing hands. His eyes got wide and he said, "Mom, I just went in my pants." I was incredulous. But this was his unwanted Central Asian souvenir. He didn't mean to bring "the bug" with him, but he had.]

Soon Brad was driving Joni, me and our combined 6 children to the ER. Joni stayed with Erika and me to help. Due to the nature of Erika's symptoms, the triage nurse coded us "red" and sped us through the system. Erika could barely keep her eyes open or stay awake. The first nurse took a brief look at her and told us to have her "go play." What?! Instead, we sat down and Erika fell asleep. The second nurse, a wonderful, friendly mother of two boys, was immediately reassuring to us. She made it clear that we had done the absolute right thing in bringing her in. She took Erika's vitals and then got her a bed in an observation room.

We waited. Joni and I talked. We woke Erika up from time to time and the nurse returned occasionally to check on her. Several hours passed. [The unsung hero in this story is Joni's husband, Brad, left at home with 5 kids, ages: 5, 5, 4, 4, and 2 (or something like that). He fed them all, got them to bed and lived to tell about it.]

Eventually the physician ordered a CT scan. About 11pm they wheeled Erika to a different wing. Somehow, after the scan, Erika revived. Within minutes her color returned and soon her humor and personality. It was the first indication that she would be fine. Back in her room the physician broke the news, "We're going to keep you and your mom here until morning, young lady, even if the scan comes back normal." I thought he was joking. Joni knew he was not. My mind raced, "Morning. I need to pack and be on the road to Heathrow at 7:45am and he's talking about releasing us at 7am." I took a breath and politely interjected, "Of course her health comes first and we'll do what you think is best, however....." I explained our circumstances. He said he would take that into account and make his final decision once the scan results came back. He was relieved that Erika was now awake and talking. We began to pray again.

Around midnight we received the scan results, which showed no sign of internal damage. The doctor showed Erika her brain photos on the computer. She's still talking about that. Soon he released us, gave us the CT scan on a disc and said good-night. I wondered how much the entire night would cost me.

Zero. Not a penny. Joni explained, "Socialized medicine." I guess that explains it.