This morning, when I hauled
myself out of my bed, I did not envision myself spending my afternoon in
A&E. But, none the less, that is what happened.
I wanted to write an
article on expectations, partially due to my second Duke of Edinburgh expedition
this past weekend, after it went better than I expected it would, but I wanted
to write this mostly because of today’s lovely experience.
You would expect that
school staff would be prepared to deal with any fairly common injuries within
schools, and know how to best treat them. However, today I found this is not
the case.
I was bitten by a tick, almost definitely on
the school field, and found it buried in my arm this lunch time. I went to
reception, not really sure how to treat it. I showed them the bug, and was
questioned as to whether it actually was a tick. It had legs on it; I’m pretty
sure it was. I was then told to remove the tick myself with some used eyebrow
tweezers. I definitely was not expecting this. In hindsight, I probably should
have objected, but when a supposed figure of authority tells you to do
something, you normally do it, even if the action is questionable. Well, I do
anyway.
Once the tick was
not-so-successfully removed, the reception staff then proceeded to debate on the
quizzical topic of whether I should be given an antiseptic cream or antiseptic
wipe. They decided on a wipe. I was then told to come back if there was any
swelling. Cheers.
I left, not really
convinced about my make-do treatment. I was expecting that the staff would know
how to remove the tick properly, not just guess
that tweezers were the best implement to use. But, on later closer
inspection, I realised the head and pincers of the tick were still in the
wound. A few texts with my mum later, I was back at reception, this time
signing out to go to A&E to be treated properly.
I am angry and disappointed
with myself for accepting the treatment when my gut was telling me something wasn't
quite right, but I’m also less than satisfied with the staff after the whole ordeal.
Like I said before, I really was not expecting to end up lying on a hospital
bed enduring minor surgery when I woke up this morning. But I also expected the
school staff to have dealt with the seemingly small problem a lot better than
they did. It may just be me, and my mother, but I definitely think that staff responsible
for treating students should know how to treat something that is actually
relatively simple. I’m not expecting them to fix broken bones, but ticks are
supposed to be easily treatable, with the correct equipment. But I now have a
hole in my arm.
