So a quiet on call, and I'm referred a young girl (for sake of confidentiality, she was less than a decade old) who was suspected of having a wooden splinter stuck in her finger. The ED doctor said there was pus and being a young patient, he felt she needed the surgeons to tactically remove it.
So I met the delightful girl with her mother. After reviewing, it just needed a bit of local anaesthetic exploration. They agreed.
I set up the minor ops room in ED. Whilst injecting the lidocaine (local anaesthetic), all I could hear was giggles from the child. I looked up to see tears. I assume the object of fear hadn't been experienced, so she didn't know whether to scream or laugh and the sensation of stinging pain and sight of her own blood.
However, success ensued; I removed this wooden log of a splinter, placed it in a specimen pot for her next "show and tell" at school, then bandaged her up.
As I was clearing up, she sprung up and ran over to give me a big hug. Now all I can say is, I nearly became tearful with joy. This is one of the few times I've actually received sincere gratitude from a patient. Usually patients like to complain because they've waited an hour to see me. However, this reward is what motivates me. I'm still joyous today. Happy patients make happy doctors. So thank you little girl for making a doctor happy.
