Hope you are having a wonderful Thursday!  Short weeks after having a Monday off are always a little weird for me.  It feels like Monday but it’s really Tuesday.  Same amount of work fewer days to do it, you know the drill.  This week has been even crazier because we had a brush with the ER yesterday.  My youngest currently attends a CDC (Child Development Center) on-post.  He gets time to play and interact with peers, hugely important for his social goals, as well as learning how to follow classroom rules and routines.  It also frees up some time for me to volunteer, work out, or just catch my breath 🙂

We have been so pleased with his care at the CDC and he is doing great.  A common practice for them is to give parents a courtesy call if a child falls and bumps their head, gets a scratch while playing outside, etc…I received such a call yesterday while I was volunteering at ACS.  I didn’t answer the phone so they left me a message.  When I checked my phone I heard that message, plus a far more urgent one saying they needed to speak with me and that they were going to be calling the paramedics.  Seems as though my youngest fell while climbing outside during playtime and hit his eye.  At first it looked like just a scrape, but they quickly noticed it swelling and he was acting sleepy, which could point to a concussion.

I called and told them I was on my way, and when I pulled up less than 5 minutes later, there was a fire truck, ambulance, and police car in the front drive of the CDC all with lights blazing.  I ran through the lobby to my son’s class and found my husband already there, holding him.  He was really calm and playing with some dinosaurs.  The paramedics filled me in, and let me know that they didn’t think he had broken any bones in his face, his vision seemed okay, and they didn’t think he had a concussion (Phew!).  They suggested we head to the ER anyway just to follow up and make sure everything was okay.  I rode to the hospital in the ambulance with my little guy, he was so brave and did great.  At the hospital we had just a short wait and they confirmed that they thought he was alright.  They said he should just take it easy, that he could have some children’s Tylenol, and that we should watch for signs of concussion.

Here’s how he looked right after we got home from the ER:

ryan eye 1

This morning it was much less swollen, but more black and blue:

ryan eye 2

We are so thankful he wasn’t more seriously hurt! Also, we are so grateful for our amazing insurance. Our kiddo got what he needed, no questions asked, and we are so thankful. Hopefully there won’t be a huge bill down the line, but we have always  been super happy with our coverage so far. Not everyone is so blessed and medical bills can be staggering. I’m just planning on taking it easy the rest of this week. No more trips to the ER, head injuries, or accidents. Maybe just some family time with a movie. Maybe Ice Age: The Dawn of the Dinosaurs?

Screen Shot 2013-09-05 at 1.13.02 PM
Think my son will have a new connection with Buck?

Have a great rest of your week!

3 Replies to “Are Ambulance Rides Covered?”

  1. Aww! Poor little guy! Glad that he’s ok and it only looks bad. I’ve wondered about ambulances too. My thinking is that since its an emergency situation, tricare covers it like they do with civilian ERs?

    1. that’s my train of thought too. I know when my oldest was first born they had to send him to a different hospital and Tricare covered all of that hospital ride. Thanks for reading! 🙂

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