Feel like complaining- Health Care

[tractor]

Hopefully I will feel better after this judgemental rant. Sister in law has five kids, feeds them crappy junk food all the time. One of the boys stopped eating for seven days! She finally notices and rushes him to the ER (no insurance), ends up the kid is plugged up and needs to stay in the hospital for four days on a very restricted diet until his system finally unclogs. So everyone else gets to pay for her poor food choices.

He comes home this morning, and the first picture she posts on FB is with the kid holding Pringles in both hands, shoving them into his mouth. I predict another visit to the ER soon. I think they should make food choice education mandatory for stupid people like her!

OK. You may all go about your normal activities...

[Shooby]

He didn't eat for 7 days and she didnt' notice?

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

What the heck was he eating that plugged him up for seven day straight?

[Deleted]

Maybe he ate the can instead of the chips??

[Deleted]

I don't know if poor food choices had anything to do with that.  Greasy junk food is rather laxative.  Taco Bell will unclog anyone. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Maybe he ate the can instead of the chips??

You'd suspect the can would have more fiber.

[NancysSummerSip]

May 12, 2014 10:29:12 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Maybe he ate the can instead of the chips??

You'd suspect the can would have more fiber.

And fewer calories and fat. But I'm wondering too, how a mother doesn't notice a kid when he's not eating. Kids are two-legged eating machines. Given a chance, a kid will lick your fridge clean of all the food you just bought, and ask for seconds.

[973beachbum]

This doesn't make sense to me either.  A serving of chips will send my son to the bathroom not plug him up.  He doesn't eat toast and a banana for breakfast because he likes them.

If a bad diet plugged someone up that quickly, DH would live in the hospital!

 

[Wisconsin Beth]

How old was the boy?  Because I can't believe she didn't notice him eating for a week either. 

[tractor]

Yeah, the seven days thing worries me too. She has a house full of little kids, and apparently can't keep track of who eats what, and when. This is obvious on our visits over there, dirty kids shoving whatever they can find in their mouths. On Easter I had to take away a dishwasher tablet from her 18 month old who was wandering around in the kitchen with it in her hand.

Maybe he filled up on gummy bears.

[Shooby]

By everyone else paying, I assume you mean Medical Assistance?

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

If a bad diet plugged someone up that quickly, DH would live in the hospital!

No kidding! DH would be a candidate for the Mutter Museum if a bad diet could plug you up that fast.

[tractor]

May 12, 2014 10:34:22 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

How old was the boy?  Because I can't believe she didn't notice him eating for a week either. 

Boys still in diapers, I would guess 3? I don't pay attention to her kids ages (too many too fast).

He probably lived on pop and sugar water.

[Deleted]

May 12, 2014 10:36:16 GMT -5 tractor said:

Yeah, the seven days thing worries me too. She has a house full of little kids, and apparently can't keep track of who eats what, and when. This is obvious on our visits over there, dirty kids shoving whatever they can find in their mouths. On Easter I had to take away a dishwasher tablet from her 18 month old who was wandering around in the kitchen with it in her hand.

Maybe he filled up on gummy bears.

If she is having a hard time keeping her kids healthy and safe a call to CPS may be in order...

[tractor]

May 12, 2014 10:36:41 GMT -5 Shooby said:

By everyone else paying, I assume you mean Medical Assistance?

Yeah, whatever the government provides, or the hospital writes off to justify charging so much for insurance.

[NancysSummerSip]

I think it's pretty sad that her poor food choices mean her kids pay for it, literally. And with no insurance, taxpayers may very well be paying for his four-day hospital stay. If she needs health care coverage for her kids, I think most states offer it, at least for minor children. Why is she not getting coverage for the kids, at least?

[973beachbum]

May 12, 2014 10:36:16 GMT -5 tractor said:

Yeah, the seven days thing worries me too. She has a house full of little kids, and apparently can't keep track of who eats what, and when. This is obvious on our visits over there, dirty kids shoving whatever they can find in their mouths. On Easter I had to take away a dishwasher tablet from her 18 month old who was wandering around in the kitchen with it in her hand.

Maybe he filled up on gummy bears.

Seriously you are talking about two different things.  I don't actuallly pay much attention to what anyone eats after around third grade other than that I buy the food and cook most of it.  So other than when we are eating dinner togeter I don't actually pay much attention until it's gone.  I should say I do still pay attention to what DS eats though.  Any questions read my previous post.

The second part is more troubling to me.  She really needs to get a handle on poisons and things really little kids shouldn't be able to get to let alone eat.  She has six kids and should be better about having those things locked up.  It may be that she is getting overwhelmed.

I still have a hard time believing a bad diet could cause a little kid to be that plugged up.  If it did I would think the hospitals in America would need to start stacking kids vertically at this point.

[justme]

Still in diapers and she didn't notice?   I'm partially surprised CPS wasn't called when they discovered it was 7 days of no eating. You'd think she'd notice not changing any poopy diapers from the kid.

[tractor]

May 12, 2014 10:42:43 GMT -5 @beerwench said:

May 12, 2014 10:36:16 GMT -5 tractor said:

Yeah, the seven days thing worries me too. She has a house full of little kids, and apparently can't keep track of who eats what, and when. This is obvious on our visits over there, dirty kids shoving whatever they can find in their mouths. On Easter I had to take away a dishwasher tablet from her 18 month old who was wandering around in the kitchen with it in her hand.

Maybe he filled up on gummy bears.

If she is having a hard time keeping her kids healthy and safe a call to CPS may be in order...

It's been done before, nothing came of it.

[Deleted]

That makes me so sad for the kids. 

[HoneyBBQ]

No eating? Or no pooping??

Big difference.

[justme]

I assumed plugged up meant no pooping. Can you poop when you haven't eaten for 7 days??

[milee]

May 12, 2014 10:36:16 GMT -5 tractor said:

Yeah, the seven days thing worries me too. She has a house full of little kids, and apparently can't keep track of who eats what, and when. This is obvious on our visits over there, dirty kids shoving whatever they can find in their mouths. On Easter I had to take away a dishwasher tablet from her 18 month old who was wandering around in the kitchen with it in her hand.

Tractor, I'm so sorry you and your nieces/nephews are dealing with this.   Hard as it is, you may want to call the local child protective services.  They might be able to help get her some nutrition training and basic parenting training.  The food thing is worrying, but the dishwasher tablet thing is incredibly serious.  Kids have died from eating poisons like that left around - the Tide wash pods are especially bad because they look like candy.  I know it probably feels like a betrayal to call social services on her, but it might save these kids' lives and it might give your sister some skills that she doesn't know she needs.  Best of luck.

[Wisconsin Beth]

May 12, 2014 10:45:02 GMT -5 tractor said:

May 12, 2014 10:42:43 GMT -5 @beerwench said:

If she is having a hard time keeping her kids healthy and safe a call to CPS may be in order...

It's been done before, nothing came of it.

I think I'd keep on calling. 

[milee]

OK, I see others suggested the call to CPS first and that OP has already tried that. OP, please try again. Especially since there are now multiple calls and a verifiable hospital visit - they should be taking a closer look this time.

CPS sometimes makes mistakes and sometimes what they see isn't what the reporting party sees, so one call might not be enough. Please try again - for the sake of the kids. And again, sorry you're being put in the middle of this.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

May 12, 2014 10:43:56 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

I think it's pretty sad that her poor food choices mean her kids pay for it, literally. And with no insurance, taxpayers may very well be paying for his four-day hospital stay. If she needs health care coverage for her kids, I think most states offer it, at least for minor children. Why is she not getting coverage for the kids, at least?

They probably do have Medicaid.  In any case, taxpayers will be paying for it, one way or the other.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

May 12, 2014 10:54:58 GMT -5 justme said:

I assumed plugged up meant no pooping. Can you poop when you haven't eaten for 7 days??

No....

And when you DO start eating, it becomes very difficult to do so.

[tractor]

May 12, 2014 10:48:04 GMT -5 HoneyBBQ said:

No eating? Or no pooping??

Big difference.

I think at some point he stopped pooping, and wasn't hungry so he didn't eat for several days. She just waited too long to do anything about it. At first the hospital was going to send him to a children's hospital to do emergency surgery on his colon. At some point they decided to admit him instead, give him an IV, and see if things would clear out on there own.

I just wish this was a huge red flag for some much needed nutritional guidance for her.

[milee]

May 12, 2014 12:23:37 GMT -5 tractor said:

May 12, 2014 10:48:04 GMT -5 HoneyBBQ said:

No eating? Or no pooping??

Big difference.

I think at some point he stopped pooping, and wasn't hungry so he didn't eat for several days. She just waited too long to do anything about it. At first the hospital was going to send him to a children's hospital to do emergency surgery on his colon. At some point they decided to admit him instead, give him an IV, and see if things would clear out on there own.

I just wish this was a huge red flag for some much needed nutritional guidance for her.

It is a huge red flag.  The problem is that very few people are in the position to have all the facts and be able to recognize that it's a huge red flag.  Even the kids of good parents have accidents and ER visits, the ER doesn't know the whole story like you do.  You're in that position to have all the facts and see the flag - please call CPS so they can get her some nutritional counseling and whatever else is needed, even if it's just getting her on the radar.

As a kid, I would have told you that the worst thing in the world would have been for someone to recognize how abused/neglected we were and call CPS.  Now that I'm an adult, I'm sad and a little angry that nobody made that call.  It would have been painful temporarily and who knows - we could have been one of those horror stories of kids that are abused in CPS as well - or maybe we could have avoided many of the things that happened over time.  But as an adult, I'm bewildered that nobody called.  We were skin and bones and usually covered with bruises and/or cuts from the belt or "switches" that were a popular punishment; as an adult I don't know how other adults could possibly not have seen this.  You see what's going on with your nieces and nephews.  Please call again.  And again if you have to.

[Deleted]

May 12, 2014 12:23:37 GMT -5 tractor said:

May 12, 2014 10:48:04 GMT -5 HoneyBBQ said:

No eating? Or no pooping??

Big difference.

I think at some point he stopped pooping, and wasn't hungry so he didn't eat for several days. She just waited too long to do anything about it. At first the hospital was going to send him to a children's hospital to do emergency surgery on his colon. At some point they decided to admit him instead, give him an IV, and see if things would clear out on there own.

I just wish this was a huge red flag for some much needed nutritional guidance for her.

I agree, red flag, but more for the fact that she doesn't notice her kid is sick for that long that his eating habits...unless he's eating something really bad....like not food things. 

My older son is a horrible picky eater and lives off of dairy and carbs.  I grew up on frozen pizzas.  While not the ideal situation it's not an ending up in the ER issue.  Something else must have been going on with him than poor diet.