The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the regulations implementing it do set some conditions or restrictions on what constitutes a"serious" medical condition that justifies leave under the Act. To be considered a serious health condition, it must involve inpatient care or continuing care which meets certain requirements. Below is a link to a FAQ sheet from the Department of Labor; look on page 1 to see the definitions for a serious health condition and compare that to your son's condition: it may be that if he needed just the one trip to the ER, that the condition would not qualify under FMLA. (Note: the doctor's note means nothing in this context--that is, if the condition does not meet the criteria, the doctor's note does not entitle you to the leave.)If your son's condition did meet the criteria, however, it does not have to require 5 days off (though I believe that 3 days is effectively the minimum; see the criteria for a serious condition).Heres' the link: http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/finalrule/NonMilitaryFAQs.pdf