The Hospital For Kids

It wouldn't feel like Winter without a few illnesses...We started off the cold and flu season with strep back in November.  Then we all had colds and what not in December.  And January has brought us strep again.

This time Preston never acted like he was sick.  He hesitated to even tell me he had a sore throat because he didn't want to go to the doctor and have the "thing" stuck down his throat.  And even as the nurse was preparing to stick the "thing" down his throat, he insisted that he was just joking about the sore throat and he wasn't really sick. If Spencer hadn't been acting so miserable, I wouldn't have thought to even take them to the doctor.  My kids are a little too tough when it comes to being sick.  But I must admit, I was the same way as a child.  I HATED going to the doctor and would deny that I was sick for as long as I could to avoid the inevitable.  So I understand where my kids are coming from.

Sure enough, both boys had strep. Lauryn dodged it somehow this time (she's already had it twice in her short life).  Spencer and Preston started on antibiotics for strep on Saturday.  Spencer was having some breathing and congestion issues and the doctor suspected that a pneumonia was starting.  She hoped that the round of antibiotics would kick any lung issues before they got worse.

Sunday the boys were feeling a little better (Preston continued to bounce off the walls through the duration of the strep, he never missed a beat).  Spencer felt better in some ways but was still not feeling good.  Monday I kept Spencer home from school and hoped that some rest and TLC would get him back on his feet.  He was feeling better that day and I was relieved the antibiotics were finally helping.

Then early Tuesday morning, Spencer started coughing a lot more than he already was.  He hadn't slept good all night and by 5AM he was coughing non-stop.  I gave him some cough medicine, rubbed some Vicks Vapor rub on his chest, and cranked up the humidifier but nothing helped.  By 6AM he finally gave up on sleeping and got up.  He was struggling to breathe and his fever had spiked again and I was very concerned that the pneumonia was only getting worse.  I gave him several nebulizer treatments throughout the day and it helped his breathing for 10 minutes or so and then he was back to very labored breathing again.  He was exhausted but couldn't sleep because he couldn't stop coughing long enough to drift off.  I called the Doctor and asked if I could get him a Rx for cough medicine.  The receptionist left a note for the doctor to call me but after several hours of not hearing back I called again.  The receptionist told me to just bring him in so they could take a look at him.

My mom came to stay with Lauryn and Preston while I took Spencer back to the doctor's office.  They were able to see us right when we got there and they could tell he wasn't doing well.  They immediately checked his pulse oxygen level and it was reading at 86.  They transport children by ambulance to Primary Children's if they are reading under 90.  I could tell they were very concerned because I heard the nurse go tell the doctor what his level was and the doctor told the person she was talking to on the phone that she needed to hang up.  She and another doctor came in to examine Spencer.  They checked his lungs but his lungs were so tight that they couldn't hear any airflow.  They decided to give him another nebulizer treatment so see if they could get his oxygen up over 90 so I could take him to Primary's instead of calling an ambulance.  After the treatment his level came up to 93 but dropped back to 91.  They told me they would allow me to drive him to Primary's ER myself if I promised to take him there immediately.  So they wheeled him out to our car in a wheelchair and off we went.

Nate met is there and the staff was waiting for us.  Spencer's fever was 103 when we got there and his oxygen was up to about 93.  They had to do a chest x-ray and get a sample from his nasal cavity which required the nurse to put drops in his nose and then suction the nose out (by shoving a suctioning tube WAY up his nose.  Then she had to stick a swab up his nasal cavity (WAY UP THERE!!!) to get a sample.  Spencer did awesome.  I could tell it was very uncomfortable but he handled it so well.  The nurse said she has had that procedure done before and it's very painful.  She was very impressed with Spencer. Then...we waited...

This is shortly after we got to the hospital.  I had explained to Spencer that this was a special hospital just for kids and they were going to take good care of him.

They had him wear a mask until he was in a more confined area.

I gave him a glove to play with to keep him occupied.

His "red light" taped to his finger to measure his oxygen.

Getting ready for his chest x-ray.  He thought it was so cool to get a picture taken of his bones.

So brave!  By this time he was asking how much longer we had to stay at the hospital for kids:).

And yes it was an ordeal, that really had no profound outcome.  A waste of time and money some might say.  But this experience had a profound affect on me as I became even more aware of how grateful I am for my children's health.

As I rushed Spencer to Primary Children's Hospital, I couldn't help but think of how fortunate we have been, that in 7 1/2 years of being parents, this was our first trip there.  And it was scary and expensive.  But I know several families who have had children in the hospital multiple times.  Families with preemies who are there for months hoping and waiting for the day their child is discharged.  And I know there are countless families around the world who have had children in the hospital for an extended amount of time. Children who were born with severe disabilites, children having cancer treatments, or children needling life threatening surgeries.  And many of those children will never know a home outside the hospital.

I cannot imagine being the parent of a sick child.  I don't know how more simply to state it.  I couldn't do it.  I already have a very hard time watching my children be poked and prodded and watching them suffer and I cannot imagine watching these kinds of events on a much grander scale, on a long-term basis.

Last night I stepped out of Spencer's hospital room and across the hall I witnessed a tiny 4 day old newborn having a spinal tap, unsedated.  It was all I could do to comfort his mother in the hall and tell her how sorry I was as her precious baby screamed at the top of his lungs in pain.  She could do nothing for him but stay back and let the doctors work.  An infected umbilical cord that had quickly turned into a life threatening complication.

I am grateful for my family's health.  A blessing I have tried not to, and will continue not to take for granted.  I will take a "quick" trip to the ER any day.  And I will pray for baby Jackson and all the other children and parents who didn't make it out so lucky.