There are many rites of passages for parents. Dealing with the first major blowout. Traveling on an airplane wiht a baby. Finding daycare for your children. That first sick day you take to be with your sick child. But, one that everyone warned me about, I guess I never thought I would have to deal with. At least not for a few years till Jaxon broke an arm or leg or something.
The first ER visit.
It started with a visit to the urgent care on Wednesday night for Kiley. She had a bad cough and with strept going around at daycare, we decided we better get it checked out. She'd been having some difficulty breathing, lots of phlegmy coughs, hadn't been eating well, and was sent home from daycare earlier that day. I didn't like the look on the doctor's face when he checked her out. I guess I knew, but wanted to think he would say something else. Something other than, 'go to the ER. Don't dawdle. You have a long night ahead of you.' I mean, who wants to hear that, really?
As the tears were welling up, I tried my best to listen to this doctor tell me about my daughter's airways and how tiny they were and how we shouldn't take the chance of going home, etc.
And so, on our way we went to the Emergency Room at Fairview University Children's Hospital.
It was actually my first ER experience, that I remember. I envisioned gunshot wounds, pain med seekers, and lots of kids with ear infections. It was actually relatively quiet. But it was a Wednesday I guess.
They got us a 'room' (an alcove with a curtain) right away, some snacks and toys for Jaxon, and began checking out Kiley. The resident and pediatric physician determined she had a bad case of the croup. After a few hours, some steroid medication and nebulizer to open up her airways, some more juice and snacks for Jaxon, we were on our way home.
Seeing that tiny little wristband for Kiley, holding the 'elephant mask' over her face, and watching monitors... if these are rites of passage for new parents, I hope we've passed the test and don't have to go through them again.
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Oh, poor Kiley! And poor Mama. The ER is really scary...we've been there three times in the last year (2x for Cal, 1x for Nate with Cal...also fun). It's not somewhere I enjoy going, that's for sure. I hope little miss is on the mend and feeling better.
ReplyDeleteI know scary right? Hope she is doing better. Lots of kids get that. Did they tell you to stand in the bathroom and run the hot water in the shower to build up steam in there? Oh another one in the old days was take them outside in the cold air for a few minutes (Im sure in a snowsuit but not with her face covered) for a few minutes. Now they have those great little machines that you just stick meds in and hold to their face. Much easier.
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