I got something last week that no one ever wants to get. I got a bird’s eye view of the inside of the emergency room at Mid Coast hospital.

I spent about seven hours there last week when Brianna Dodge, the daughter of my dear friend, Sharon, slipped and fell about 14 feet off the top ledge at Fort Baldwin in Phippsburg onto the unforgiving concrete below.

Before I go any further I will tell you that the 6-yearold is going to be fine and was thankfully not fatally injured. However, in the moments after her fall we were not sure of anything — especially her potential outcome.

As Sharon carried her daughter’s tiny, bleeding, 39- pound body to my car, none of us could predict the future of that afternoon’s break-in-therain hiking adventure which was supposed to be followed by a trip to Percy’s for ice cream — not a mad dash to the ER.

I anxiously drove the 20 miles to Mid Coast Hospital as my friend consoled and comforted her 6-year-old baby in the backseat of my minivan. We had the forethought to phone ahead to the ER to let them know we were bringing in a young child with a possible head injury; as she was bleeding from the chin and had obviously also broken her arm. Beyond that, we could see no damage — and she was thankfully talking and asking repeatedly about whether she would get a cast for her arm and what color it might be.

Upon arriving at Mid Coast, where Sharon’s husband, Win, was waiting, we were swooped immediately into an exam room which they had waiting. The little girl was prepped by a lovely nurse, Cassie, who then spent the next six hours tending to both the child’s wounds and the parents’ fears in their state of shock and trauma.

Cassie did a wonderful job explaining in layman’s terms things that the doctor had said or asking after the doctors left if everyone understood what had just transpired. She was gentle with Bri while attentive, warm and engaged with Win and Sharon in a way that made the experience tolerable.

Within minutes of arriving and being prepped by Cassie, the girl was seen by Dr. Advani. He came into the room, immediately taking charge of the situation, examining the child and then interviewing the parents with questions as to her over-all well-being, medical history and state of consciousness after the fall. He was thorough and warm, putting everyone at ease with his selfconfidence.

After assessing the situation, he ordered tests, lab work, CAT scans and X-rays to get a better idea of what was happening. He would let no stone go unturned to get to the bottom of that young girl’s injuries — many of which could have been hidden from plain view.

After the general exam was complete, he determined immediately that orthopedists were needed, so Dr. Van Orden and Dr. Koury both arrived at the ER having been called from their homes at that late hour. The break to Bri’s arm was so bad it actually took two doctors working together to assess and repair the damage.

The parents were asked to step out during the setting of the arm as that would’ve been a very difficult scene for them to watch. I stayed in the room to hold her hand and kept her eyes locked on mine while we discussed what her siblings might be doing, or what ice cream they got or what game they might be playing. Anything to keep her distracted and the panic from her eyes while the messy business of straightening broken bones was executed.

It was during these long minutes of shared doctor time when I got the most insight into a hospital where the doctors and the nurses genuinely work as a team and get along. I saw camaraderie, warmth, professionalism and respect pass openly between the four people engaged with repairing a broken little girl.

It was an enormous relief when her head X-rays came back to show just a broken jaw, and nothing more severe.

Dr. Advani reached out to doctors all over New England for opinions on the best course of action to deal with her jaw. Was surgery required or not?

To find that answer, he was thorough and meticulous and never let the parents go without an update for more than 20 minutes.

I’m very happy to report that surgery was not required and Brianna Dodge is recovering nicely. Enjoying a diet of frozen yogurt, scrambled eggs and apple sauce, she should be fully healed from all of her injuries in about four weeks. It’s miraculous considering the fall she took and what might’ve happened.

I know that the work done at Mid Coast Hospital by that team of doctors, nurses, lab and X-ray techs not only fixed her body, it also repaired her parents’ spirits as the staff tended equally to their wellbeing, allowing them to cope with the trauma.

I speak for the family when I offer a heartfelt thanks to the entire staff at Mid Coast Hospital’s emergency room for pulling together and healing far more than just a little girl that night.

STACY FRIZZLE, of Topsham, is executive director of People Plus, based in Brunswick.