DRAMATIC: Selmer had been healthy and fine until he suddenly started vomiting at the end of September. Photo: Hallgeir Vågenes / VG
Five-week-old Selmer had to undergo emergency surgery at Ullevål hospital, after several days of vomiting. Sandra Sundwall (36) criticizes the emergency room in Fredrikstad for not taking her son’s condition seriously enough.
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Selmer had been healthy and fine until he suddenly started vomiting at the end of September.
Every time the little boy received milk substitute, everything came back, the mother tells VG.
– When I fed him, the squirt stopped. He started vomiting, his body started working, and then the beam came and he spewed everything down, says his mother Sandra Sundwall to VG.
Fredriksstad Blad mentioned the matter first.
SELMER: Both at the emergency room in Fredrikstad, Sykehuset Østfold Kalnes and Ullevål Hospital, the health personnel took a number of tests and examinations of Sundwall’s son. Photo: Sandra Sundwall
– Not worried
At the start, the mother’s thought was that this was not necessarily serious.
Her eldest son of two years was, after all, a “gulper”.
– I thought he couldn’t stand the milk replacer. I tried out several things, she explains.
But when Selmer just kept throwing up, Sundwall decided to call the emergency room in Fredrikstad. Three days had passed by then.
– At the emergency room, they weren’t worried, as long as he didn’t have a fever and wet nappies, she says.
The message made Sundwall calmer.
She was asked to contact her again if Selmer developed a fever or her general condition deteriorated.
NIGHTMARE: One of the nights, the mother Sandra Sundwall woke up to find Selmer had thrown up in bed, and was surrounded by his own vomit. She was afraid that he would choke on his own vomit. Photo: Sandra Sundwall
Leaving the emergency room after two hours
But when Selmer had not gotten any better on Sunday, his mother took him to the emergency room.
There, according to his mother, he received what is called green prioritization green prioritizationPatients at the emergency room in Fredrikstad are prioritized according to medical severity / color coding. The lowest is green (no particular urgency), then yellow (possible serious condition) and finally red (suspected acute life-threatening illness, injury or accident), according to the emergency room’s website. – the lowest degree of severity.
After two hours at the emergency room, without the supervision of a doctor, the mother decides to go home.
At home, Selmer vomits twice more.
Again she visits the emergency room with her son. This time her father is with her.
Selmer is now prioritized with yellow urgency – possible serious condition, says the mother.
At the emergency room, they ask for a referral to Sykehuset Østfold Kalnes – and get it.
– I finally thought, now we are in safe hands.
The ambulance service does not want to respond to individual cases in the media. Read what they answer further down in the article.
IN SAFE HANDS: The mother Sandra Sundwall felt that her son Selmer was well looked after at Sykehuset Østfold Kalnes and Ullevål Hospital. Here from Kalnes hospital. Photo: Sandra Sundwall
Had to have emergency surgery
Several samples were taken, and a number of examinations were carried out at Kalnes Hospital.
The epicrisis, which VG has seen, shows that the ultrasound has revealed pyloric stenosis.
Pyloric stenosis is a condition in which the exit of the stomach is narrow, and it can develop in infants a few weeks after birth, according to NHINHIhttps://nhi.no/siktoorje/barn/magetarm/pylorusstenose/.
HOME: Selmer and mum at home in the apartment. Photo: Hallgeir Vågenes / VGInfo
Pylorusstenose
To detect pyloric stenosis, a few simple blood samples will be taken from the child, and it will be examined with an ultrasound. The cause is unknown, but the condition occurs more frequently in some families, which may mean that hereditary factors can play a role. Newborns develop typical signs of impaired emptying of the stomach in the form of severe vomiting at around four (2–8) weeks of age – exceptionally it can occur as late as six months of age. In some children the condition goes away on its own, but often the treatment is surgical by cutting through the thick musculature lengthwise.
Source: NHI
Sea view
Sundwall says that they were then sent by ambulance to Ullevål hospital, where Selmer was to be put under anesthesia and have emergency surgery the next day.
– I was not so high in the hat and there were a few tears. When it comes to such a small body and you don’t know, it’s scary.
– Waiting time depends on demand
Head of department Inger Marie Moksnes is responsible for the Fredrikstad and Hvaler ambulance service.
She writes that they have the expertise and experience to make assessments of patients’ conditions over the phone and when attending the emergency room, also for babies and children.
– We understand that waiting time can be experienced as difficult and that it can unfortunately lead to patients feeling that they are not taken seriously, even though they are to the highest degree.
She says the waiting time can vary.
ULLEVÅL HOSPITAL: Five-week-old Selmer was put under anesthesia before he had to operate. Photo: Private / Sandra Sundwall
– For those who do not have an acute degree of urgency, the waiting time will primarily depend on how busy it is. On a calm day, you can get to the doctor quickly, even if you have a lower degree of urgency. If there is a lot of traffic, the degree of urgency will affect the waiting time. We must always prioritize those that are most urgent, writes Moksness.
Most people who come to the emergency room will be taken in by a nurse for various measurements and any tests ahead of a medical assessment.
– It depends on the cause. Then we also have a good overview of those who are waiting, the possibility of observation and the opportunity to reprioritise, says Moksnes.
– Mother’s heart is always right
The operation was successful. Now Selmer is two months old – and his mother describes him as “cheerful and happy”.
After two days in Oslo, the family was allowed to return home to Fredrikstad.
– I am very happy that it went well. I am also very glad that I did not give up. I will not go to the emergency room in Fredrikstad again, unless I absolutely have to.
– What would you say to those who are in similar situations as you?
– Feel the gut feeling. It is often right. Mother’s heart is always right.
Published:
Published: 21.10.23 at 22:15
Updated: 21.10.23 at 23:12
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2023-10-21 20:15:40
#Selmer #underwent #emergency #surgery #Speared
