The day after a high heat index alert day, our son got a violent headache and was vomiting on and off throughout the day. He was tired and slept most of the day and night.

The next day, he was a little better in the morning and slept on and off up to dinnertime. During dinner, our son complained his head hurt worse and was still vomiting. There is nothing worse than hearing your son telling you, “Mom it feels like someone is drilling a hole in my head!” That was it. we are going to Urgent Care! After dinner, I packed a barf bag, a towel and went to urgent care.

My husband and I sat in the Urgent Care waiting room for 4 hours with our son waiting to get into a room. My soon to be college-bound son was trying to sleep on my right shoulder while we waited to get into a room. I had to get some written work done with him sleeping on my shoulder. Boy, did my work turn out sloppy! I had a hard time reading what I wrote. Next time, I am bringing a book to read. That night, many people needed help and the waiting room was packed.

While we were waiting, an ambulance brought someone who really needed medical attention.

One couple had 5 kids with them, roughly between the ages of 1 and 6 years old. The kids were well behaved! They just stared at my college-bound teenager trying to sleep on my shoulder. Luckily, I had a towel with me so he was able to use it as a pillow. One of the girls had her leg bandaged up and looked miserable but did not cry or whine. She did not say one word!

My husband finally asked, “How much longer until we can see a doctor?” The answer was, “I can’t guarantee you will be out of here by midnight.” My husband sat down next to me and started complaining to me. Then, our son, on the other side of me, was complaining he wanted to leave. I was pickle in the middle and trying to finish what I was writing. Nobody cares that I am trying to get work done. The bickering went on for at least five minutes.

The couple, with the 5 kids, was sitting in front of us. I am looking at the mom in front of us and wanting to crawl under a rock. I was embarrassed! Her kids were so well behaved.

The kids just stared at my husband and our son. Finally, I said, “We will wait a 30 minutes longer and see if we get into a room.” “Then, we will decide what to do.” Since I was a pickle in the middle, I had to get up and walk away from the two of them for a few minutes.

When I returned, my husband said he was going to a local gas station for coffee. I said, “Go!” After my husband left, our son said he is leaving. He got up and walked out the door. I did not stop him. I knew he could not go anywhere because my husband had the car. My husband and son returned five minutes later together. Our son just looked at me like why did not you stop me from leaving. I did not say anything and he grabbed the towel and tried to sleep on my shoulder again.

It was getting close to midnight and my husband went to take a nap in the car because he knew he had to be at work in the morning.

Finally, our son and I got into a room. The nurse apologized for the wait. She asked what we needed. I told her a cup of water, please. She put the information into the computer. The doctor came in about 15 minutes later. He suggested a CT scan. After that CT scan was finished, we heard that it could take up to 2 hours to read the results. We waited! The doctor checked in on us after 30 minutes. He offered 1,000mg of Tylenol. Our son was grateful and took it. Another 30 minutes later, the doctor checked up on us to find out what level the pain was. The doctor offered a shot, our son looked at me and I told him, “It works!” I know it does because I had the shot in the past for pain. Our son agreed and got the shot.

After another 20 minutes, my son has my cup of water now and is goofy nuts. He was throwing ice cubes in the sink and at me. I knew he was feeling no pain! The doctor came back and I told him he is feeling tons better. The doctor said the CT scan was normal. Thank God! I texted my husband saying the scan is ok. He came into the room thinking they would be releasing us. The doctor came in 20 minutes later and asked if our son wanted nausea medication for home and Tylenol. Our son looked at me and I said I nodded my head yes and he agreed to it.

Another 20 minutes later, the nurse came in with the release papers. The prescriptions were faxed to the pharmacy.

The diagnosis was Migraine Headache. I never knew a headache could make you violently nauseous.

I know we spent about 6.5 hours in Urgent Care. I understand that the hold up in Urgent Care happened because the ambulance took priority. I did end up promising the boys that if we went to Urgent Care again, it would be at another facility in our medical network. Even mom could not deal with all the waiting! Next time, I am bringing bottled water and snacks with us to Urgent Care in case there is another long wait.