Our First Trip to the E.R.

So yesterday was Peli's first trip to the ER... Don't get all excited. It was NOT a trip like this:
No, it was much more boring than that- but it did leave me feeling like this:
Now, with my brothers and their 'affiliation' with helmet-bashing, I assure you this was not MY first trip to the ER, but it was Epeli's! Here are the Deets:
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Peli woke up yesterday morning and only took one step away from his bed when he starts crying and yelling for me. I run in there to find him standing on only his left leg, pointing to his right knee saying 'hurt me'. I carry him into the family room and try to get him to stand up. He will NOT put any weight on his right leg at all!
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I couldn't think of anything he's done lately that would've caused this 'injury,' other than the night before he played outside with Suka for a couple hours, running around and stuff- he easily could've fallen down or something dumb like that. Thinking it was something not-serious, I gave him some tylenol and we watched some cartoons and chilled. But after a couple of hours, I tried to get him to walk again, and he couldn't! When he was sitting, I could move his leg around just fine, and there was no bruise or any swelling. So I call our local doctor's office and take him in.
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Most of you know that we've moved to a new area. I've already been to the doctor's office here twice, and both times I've had some problems with the wait, the reception desk- my experiences just haven't been great there, but off we went anyway. It took them 45 minutes - to "check me in", even though all our information is already in the computer (??!!). Then we waited some more to get into a room, then again for the doctor... finally, he comes in and before doing or checking anything, immediately says he just wants to get some X-rays. They have X-ray machines in the office, so he told us to wait and it would be 'just a minute.' Of course, 20 minutes go by before he opens the door and says... wait for it... "Oh, hasn't anyone come to get you yet?"
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I nodded my head no and he walked out again. A few minutes later a nurse comes in to say someone else is in front of us in line, so it will be just a few minutes longer. Sure. So another 40 minutes go by (and are you ready for the IRONY?: I could hear the office's staff meeting happening out the lobby- talking about "Quality Service in a TIMELY MANNER")before the doctor comes in and says "The Xray machine just broke down." He decides at this point to play with Peli's leg and move it around, which I felt was redundant because then he says "I really think you need to go up to Primary Children's to get Xrays done."
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I asked him if he really thought it was that serious, because I really felt like he'd just hurt it or bruised it somehow and he'd be fine. He said that alot of kids these days are getting inflammation of the hip, which can be caused by a serious infection. Now, if I wasn't so frustrated already, or maybe if I was with a doctor who knew me and Peli better, I probably wouldn't have questioned his advice, but I DID question it. Peli wasn't saying his leg hurt, or his hip hurt... he was very clearly pointing to the front of his kneecap. But the doctor said he thought we should go up to the lab that day. So I took Peli home, first, to get some lunch. As soon as he ate, Peli fell asleep. This gave me a chance to make some calls.
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I called Peli's regular doctor where we used to live and explained everything to the nurse and just asked their opinion. Then we put a call in to my regular doctor in Provo to see what he thought. Without seeing him, both said that even though it's probably nothing, the safe thing would be to get the Xrays. While Peli slept, I went back and forth, trying to decide whether it was worth the trip, the money, the time...
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THEN... Peli wakes up. I heard him moving around, so I start walking toward his room thinking I'd have to carry him out and TADA!!! Out he comes running! What the?!?! He runs over to the lazy-boy chair and jumps up and down. Then he hops over to his table and jumps again. I couldn't believe my eyes- I even asked him, "Peli, doesn't your leg hurt?" and he pointed to his knee and said, "No. Not!" From that point on, he was normal normal normal.
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Being super-relieved, I called the doctor's office. I explained to the nurse that Peli was running around moving completely normally. She wouldn't even ask the doctor the question- she simply told me she knows he would tell me to go to the hospital anyway.
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Of course, not wanting there to be some weird medical problem with Peli's leg, I decided just to go up to the hospital. Suka got permission to miss their volleyball game to come with me. I called Primary Children's to find out where the outpatient X-ray lab is, where to go, etc., and off we go.
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Once there, we go in and get admitted and registered and pointed to the lab. Once there, the lab tech. looks at the paperwork the doctor had given me to bring with me and she informs me that that paperwork is NOT sufficient- it is not doctor's orders, and doesn't have the right information. (Ummmm, this is not going to end well...) I tell her that the doctor's office is open late and ask if I should call over there. She decides to call herself. After a looooooong time, she comes and tells me that she spoke with the nurse, who said I was supposed to have gone to the Emergency Room (...Oh No You Didn't!!) She points us in the direction of the ER, but I stopped in the lobby to call the doctor's office myself.
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I explained the entire situation to the receptionist, and she put me on hold to "confirm" that I was supposed to go to the ER. She came back and said the Medical Assistant confirmed that's where I was supposed to go... "because Peli's leg really needs to be evaluated by an Emergency Room Doctor." This really threw me... I asked her "Why is being evaluated by an ER doctor any different than being evaluated by any other doctor on the planet?" She couldn't answer me. She said "I don't really know, that's just what the MA said, that he needs to be seen by an ER doctor."
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That was it. That was me being pushed over the line. I. Lost. It.
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I went off, telling her that in my three visits to their clinic, I've had poor experiences with the wait times, with the reception desk confusion, with the wait for doctors, with getting advice from the doctors that feels reliable... and now this whole thing today had been going on since 9:30 in the morning and this doctor had not even told me to go to the Emergency Room when supposedly that's where he wanted me to go! (I know he said the "Lab" because why else would I have called Primary Children's information line to ask how to get to the "Lab"?) She could only apologize, of course, for all the confusion. I asked her if she could have the MA or one of the doctors there just fax orders up to the lab so we didn't have to go over and wait in the ER... she put me on hold but then... unfortunately, without seeing Peli, they just wouldn't feel comfortable sending orders up... they really would like me to see an ER doctor. This went on for a while, ending with me explaining that I would need to find a new doctor, and asking her to pass my concerns on to the doctor as well as the administration of the clinic.
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So then, once again, I was left with the decision: To Go, or Not To Go. I decided since we were there, we might as well...
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And to be honest, our 'stay' at the ER of Primary Children's was really quite nice! The receptionist helped us out quickly and efficiently, we saw an MA in just a few minutes, we were shown to our room within 10 minutes, and the doc came in about 5 minutes after that!! (not bad for an ER!)
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And this Doc was the Bomb-dot-com (thanks Marci). He was in his late-50s, early-60s, totally gentle and nice. He listened to my whole explanation of the events, and ended up saying... oh, you're gonna love this... that he's a little surprised that the doctor still felt it necessary for us to come in after Peli was walking, because if it was a fracture/break/sprain, he would NOT have gotten better after napping, and if it was one of those freaky infections... he wouldn't have gotten better after napping! (Hmmm... that sounds familiar... weren't those my thoughts exactly?!)
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So he checked out Peli's leg, moved his legs around, watched him RUN down the hallway, then he even checked his ears, throat, eyes, belly, back, heart... and then he says the words that had been circulating in my head all friggin afternoon: "I really don't think X-rays and bloodwork are necessary or would show us anything at this point." Ahhhhhhh. Mom's Gut Right Again!!
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He basically said that if in the next few days, he shows any further signs of pain or problems, to bring him back, but that it appears that he may have just had a minor bruise in there somewhere or hurt it somehow and now it's doing better. He also told me the appropriate dose of Motrin for a 40-pound-er !! What?? Yes, Peli is now 40+ pounds and almost 40 inches tall! Who knew?
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So, after aaaaaaaaallllllllll that, Peli is fine and all is well - except my confidence in my local doctor's office. Anyone know a good pediatrician close?!
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{Apologies for ranting and raving- I don't do it often (online), but I was peeeeeeeeeved! ...and you're gonna see my real personality sooner or later...}