Well, everything was going along quite nicely for Will, until Thursday night. He awoke with terrible tummy pains and a fever of 103. Mommy didn't like that combination, so the thought she'd pop over with him to the small satellite emerg. clinic in towm. When she arrived she learned that emergencies in this town have to occur before 11 p.m. Since they were out enjoying the night air anyways, mom decided to take the trip to the big hospital. Will whimpered and generally complained the whole way. Mom slid nicely into the parking space closest to the emerg. room door and carried Will past the concierge attendant. Yes, you read right, the guy sits there waiting to park your car for you if the ones at the door are occupied. This is a free service.
As mom approached the reception desk, Will relieved himself of all his stomach contents. There was a lot of stomach contents. Both of our coats had to be placed into a large plastic bag. That's not a big deal for a little kid who is changing into a hospital gown, but for the lady who didn't see the need for all of her foundation garments, this caused a little embarrassment.
Will was accessed and that's when mom learned that, in actuality, the stomach problems were the least of his concerns. Will's oxygen levels were dropping into the mid 80's. A good level would be the high 90's. He was started on oxygen and a treatment to loosen the gunk in his lungs. Will rubbed his nose in an effort to remove the tubes and they were taped in place by the nurse. Will was x-rayed and then the real fun began. The nurses wanted to put in an I.V. Poor Will was not blessed with the "juicy" veins that medical staff prefer. After trying in an arm, an ankle, then the other ankle they finally accomplished the mission. They were very good at not trying the arm that possessed his sucky fingers. They realized those fingers were sacred!
Those x-rays showed Will had pneumonia in his right lung. He was admitted and brought up to a very cool room all to himself. It was there he grabbed the oxygen tubes and ripped them out, tape and all. Nurses can fix that situation easily enough, with even MORE tape. At 5 in the morning he finally drifted off to sleep, and I, on a pull out cot that elevated my feet well above the level of my head, snoozed. For 7 minutes. The baby in the room next door awoke without even a whine. It was straight into the screams of a child in pain. Her dad was there, I heard him ask the nurse on the intercom for the baby's Tylenol3. The nurse told him it wasn't time yet. She would have to wait 10 more minutes!
Will's short power nap seemed to do wonders for him. He sat up and had a good look at the metal bars that surrounded him and rose so high above his head. His pulseOx monitor was on his big toe and made it glow red. He loved having a glowing red toe! Then he looked over at mommy. She wasn't glowing. She looked pale and droopy. So Will went back to the glowing toe and winding himself up in his oxygen tubes. He sat there merrily for the parade of nurses and doctors and med students and med residents. He knew the routine soon enough, they all wanted to hear his lungs and would sit quietly while they placed the stethoscope all around.
Finally the head pediatrician came in and gave us the O.K. to fly the coop. Out came the tubes, off went the glowing red toe, out came the I.V. line and back into the regular clothes that daddy had brought when he visited and took home the nasty winter coats in the plastic bag.
We were all set to go, when mommy couldn't find her car keys. Hmmmm. A phone call later confirmed they were indeed in the pocket of the winter coat in the plastic bag in the laundry room back home. Daddy had to drive all the way back with the keys, while the kids stayed at a neighbours house. He had been busy getting ready for a big date with Olivia. Olivia was taking him to a square dance, but that's a story for another day.
Will is now home feeling much better and finding ways to get into trouble.
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