Well - The day finally arrived. Yesterday was the day when Anna earned her first trip to the emergency room. And you would think an ER at the ever-esteemed Vanderbilt Children's Hospital would be a pretty good upgrade from other emergency room experiences. Not so, my friends. Not so. In fact, if it is any clue or indication how our hours went in said ER, let me just let you know we didn't even have the luxury of a room! When we were eventually seen (after waiting the obligatory 3+ hours that seem to go with every ER visit), Anna was assigned to a hospital bed in a hallway right next door to a bathroom. Even better, this bed was situated in front of a panel of switches or controls of some sort with a big sign right next to it that sternly said not to block the panel. Funny.
I won't bore you with the whole run down of what happened because it only seems to have ended up to be a urinary tract infection of some sort that will further be investigated on Saturday - which, by the way, we are NOT looking forward to the repeat catheter Anna will have to endure (and by endure I really mean scream her little head off for).
But I will tell you that yesterday involved some numbers:
2 and 10 - the number of lips and fingers that turned purple
15 - the number of minutes Anna was trembling all over
30 - the number of minutes before we were at her dr's office
102.4 - Anna's temperature
1,000 - the number of minutes it felt like to finish the catheter
1.5 - the number of hours before we got out of the dr's office
3 - the number of wrong turns we took before we made it to the ER
0 - the number of diapers, sippy cups, and bottles we had on hand
3.5 - the number of hours we waited in the ER waiting room
6 - the number of times I had to repeat Anna's symptoms to nurses and doctors
5 - the number of places they could not find a vein on Anna to draw blood from
8 - the number of times Anna's arms, legs, and/or parts were poked
8 - the time we got home last night...except it felt like midnight
0 - the number of times Anna or Noah fussed or complained during all the waiting and moving around - Thank you, Lord!
And just for the fun of it.... 6. The number of times we have been to the dr. for Anna in just the last month. Make that 7 when we go back on Saturday.
Oh no (and funny about the bed blocking the panel)! That sounds like a traumatic day. I'll pray for everything to go well Saturday.
ReplyDeleteOh Kimmie, i am so sorry. Sounds like the kids were great during the whole process, minus the catheter. But who can be great while having one of those! Keep us posted on how she is. We'll be praying. No fun.
ReplyDeleteGeez...but I guess an ER is still just an ER no matter what hospital it's a part of...EVERYone goes there from all different paths of life and problems. I do know how you feel...frustrated...I'm so sorry you had such horrible day, but hopefully Anna's feeling better by now! How stressful!
ReplyDeleteOh brother, I am exhausted just thinking about your experience. I'm glad you were able to figure out what the problem was and that Anna is OK now. Maybe this explains some of the extreme fussiness you have been writing about with Anna. We will be praying for you as you go back for the catheter again tomorrow. Pray for us too...home study tomorrow! I am so excited to keep things moving along so that we can begin the wait for a referral. Take care.
ReplyDeleteOh no! Poor thing (her and you). Sending prayers for a quick recovery. I have to say...I love your rundown of numbers. You're a born writer.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sad just thinking of all that trauma Anna went through!
ReplyDeleteI must say that was completely different from our experience at the ER...we got right in, they had plenty of toys, gave Levi a stuffed bear he could keep and had sippy cups and snacks for him. It was a pediatric ER, so I wonder if that made a difference. I would think Vanderbilt could afford such luxuries, though.
Hang in there Anna (and momma!).
Laura: Yay for home studies! (and I am not being sarcastic) :)
ReplyDeleteAlison: Doesn't a children's hospital ER count as a pediatric ER? Then again, based on our different experiences...apparently not.
Oh no! I hope that Anna gets better soon! I hate that she's so sick, but I'm glad she and Noah are handling it well (for your sake and theirs)! Keep us updated.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah Laura: That was exactly what I am was thinking about last night...one symptom for a UTI is unexplained irritability! So now I am concerned she has had it all these 5 weeks. We shall see.
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