Hospital Adventures

To find out how we ended up in the hospital, read Crazy Sick Month, Part 3 first. 

We had to wait a while in the ER waiting room. I try never to get upset about it. The faster you are taken care of, the worse off your condition. So, I constantly remind myself that slow service is really a good thing. 

Anyway, with that said, as soon as Rea was triaged, she was marked "urgent." Then we played my favorite hospital game: Hurry Up and Wait. Rea's chest x-ray showed pneumonia. She had a bunch of other symptoms that I won't list. All that matters is that the emergency room doctor decided to admit her. 

Even though we got to the ER at 10:30am, were triaged at noon, admitted around dinner, we did not get a room in the Children's Hospital until after midnight. Ugh. That was a new form of Mommy-torture. Rea fell asleep around 10pm in the ER. 

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For the next few days/nights, Rea was given around-the-clock breathing treatments, antibiotics via IV and lots of popsicles.

I have say, the Children's Hospital is an amazing place. On Thursday, we had a knock on the door. Someone asked if Rea wanted to play with a puppy for a while. I had to decline because of my severe allergies, but it was a super adorable thing to do for the kids on this floor. 

Rea was given a few welcome gifts: a new blanket, a stuffed monkey, a coloring/activity book, a new set of crayons. But her favorite is the set of warrior bracelets. They were specially chosen for her: a red BRAVERY one for having blood work done, a green ENERGY one for the respiratory treatments, a rainbow one for being admitted to the hospital, and a white MAGNETISM one for having had a chest x-ray done. She has not taken them off. There are more available for different things (see the pic below). I think this is a really awesome idea. It made her feel like she could be proud of what she had been through. 

On Friday, we were surprised to have a visit from a superhero. Rea was a little shell-shocked when Superman walked in. I don't know who this man really is, but I'd like to thank him for taking the time to dress in costume and cheer kids up. You really are a hero. 

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And to the doctors, nurses and support staff at the hospital: THANK YOU! You were all incredible. Rea wants to give a special shout out to ER nurse Shannon, you made the biggest impression on her and she has not stopped talking about how kind you were when she felt her worse. 

I would like to thank our pediatricians: Dr Connor and Dr Goodwin. You both helped me out so much this past week and a half (well, really much longer than that). Our family loves you both more than you could ever know. I am so glad my kids have doctors who love them.