I turned around as her body hit the ground, and instantly I knew it wasn’t good.

I rushed across the playground to her, praying she would be able to shake it off, but my mother’s intuition knew better. I gathered my daughter in my arms and asked if she could move her wrist; her heart wrenching cries gave me all the answer I needed. A broken bone. Minutes later we were darkening the door of the place where I knew she’d receive the best care.

The reason I knew this is because not two months earlier, I had brought my son in for a broken collarbone. When I got to the front desk, fumbling for my wallet while holding my wailing girl, we were met with kind, understanding smiles, and immediately ushered into a private room. After a thorough initial examination by the nurses, we were given pain medication and a warm blanket. Not too long afterwards, her tears stopped, and I started to un-jumble my nerves and thoughts.

In my ten years as a parent, we had never needed urgent care until this summer. It can be difficult as a parent knowing when to take your children to the ER because every child is different, as is their pain tolerance. In my son’s case, he was tripped during a soccer game, but he was such a trooper and in good spirits that we decided to ice his shoulder for the evening and reassess the next morning. I woke him up early before school to see how he was feeling. He couldn’t put any weight on his right side, so I knew we needed to get him checked out. The care we received at Premier ER was incredible and unlike anything I had experienced in Canada. The staff understood my reasoning for not bringing him in to be checked the previous evening. Everyone took time to ask Denver about himself while doing their jobs efficiently. I mentioned to the doctor that it was the morning of the STAAR testing, and he examined the x-rays right away, making sure to get us to school on time. The next morning, I received a phone call from the doctor who had seen us the day prior; he was following up, asking how my son was feeling and if there was anything the clinic could help with.

After receiving such a top-notch level of care, I knew where I was headed when my daughter broke her wrist, even in the midst of a very stressful situation. Just as before, we received incredible care and a follow up from the clinic the following day. I was relieved to know we made the best decision for my girl.

As much as we try to avoid pain and suffering, we can’t prevent accidents from happening. Both of my children were very discouraged at the times of their bone breaks, but the empathy from everyone at the clinic, and the care of the medical staff helped them mentally process what had happened. In turn, with my children put at ease, I was able to process my own motherly emotions and thoughts. What started out as two extremely stressful mornings for our family, ended up as mini science lessons on the human body with x-rays, and the knowledge that even strangers in our Texas community care for each other well.

My hope for you fellow parents is that you never have to take your own children to the emergency room. But if you do, we would definitely recommend Premier because of the
high level of care you will receive. Sometimes on your hardest day as a parent, watching your community come around and support you is the biggest blessing you could hope for,
and I promise it is something your children will never forget.