Warning: There may be some ranting mixed with self-pity! Top ten reasons why I dislike hospitals.

http://youtu.be/WumZPJf-E3g

Top ten reasons why I dislike hospitals: 

10) Poor quality mattresses

9) Fluorescent lighting - who doesn't look pale?

8) Walking around on tile floors that someone undoubtedly detonated with some type of bodily fluid only hours before you arrived.

7) Shift changes; I don't care who you are, why did you wake me up to introduce yourself?

6) It's never night. The lights blaze through the skimpy bedroom blinds as if someone is using one of those car dealership spotlights and advertising the fact that someone will be waking you up for no apparent reason any moment.

5) There's no need to set an alarm; the monitors alarm every five minutes, but no one bothers to change the settings. What's the point in having an alarm if no one ever comes when it goes off?

4) The food is shipped in fresh from Monsanto, assuring that as our kids are "healing" we are filling their fragile little person bodies with genetically modified, pesticide laced, pre-packaged and processed foods (yes, I am rethinking whether this should move up the list).

3) Room claustrophobia and stir crazy kiddos; Today we got a fire truck for Keane from the nursing staff. The entertainment lasted approximately 10 minutes. We read all the books we brought and did all the puzzles in the first hour and a half. Toddlers and hospital rooms don't mesh!

2) Basic rules of parenting - violated! Don't wake a sleeping baby. Thou shall not inflict harm upon one's child, well except when you have to restrain said child for blood draws, x-rays, blood pressures, medication, etc. Of course, all for the right reasons. I am sure Keane sees it that way too -- not!

1) No matter how nice everyone is, how helpful, or accommodating, I am convinced it is the most stressful, least comfortable, noisiest, loneliest and depressing place for a parent of a hospitalized child.

The short story - Keane had a fever for nine days. He was seen at Dr. Bob's on Wednesday and got a chest x-ray on Thursday when his fever persisted. The diagnosis at the time was bronchiolitis. He seemed a little better on Friday, then had a fever again on Saturday. Dr. Bob said if he still had a fever on Sunday morning, we would make arrangements to meet at RiverBend hospital. This morning he was strangely lethargic, had a fever and overall did not pass the Mom (or Dad) gut check.

Alas, we came to RiverBend and went directly to the Peds floor, bypassing the ED or any interim checkpoint. We hooked him up to an O2 saturation monitor (Pulse Ox) and the Mom PTSD sets in - mid 80s to high 80s. What the *$%$  #$%$* *#$%^? We've already paid our dues with poor oxygen saturation. After we paid our dues, we were fined and taxed and paid again.

Respiratory virus screens for the main offenders all negative; blood work normal; X-ray shows no pneumonia. We're here for the luck of the draw, mystery respiratory virus. Sweet.

The good news - there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with his heart. Plus, newsflash - Keane took his last dose of Viagra on Friday night. Had it not been for all the Advil and Tylenol, I could report Keane is completely medicine free. Once the fever subsides, which it has for the last few hours, and he no longer needs a fever reducer, I will be able to report that the little bug is medicine free for the first time in almost one year. It was Father's day (6/17/08) through Avery's four year old birthday (6/18/08) that we were admitted to the hospital for the first time and our journey as parents of a cardiac kid with Down Syndrome began with an unforgettable bang!

It's a little strange, to be back again having come so far and experienced so much. I am happy to share that I am a better hospital Mom now; a fierce advocate and master of our world inside this 200 square foot room. Today I made the phlebotomist start over again after he violated my two-time repositioning grace and started digging around for a vein. Then tonight, the nurse came in to take Keane's blood pressure and temperature (under his arm) about an hour after I put him to bed. I used my temporal thermometer reading and my hand, felt pretty confident that he didn't have a fever, then refused her request. He's not likely to sleep through the night here. When he wake up, we can take his blood pressure. Until then, we can see on the monitor that the air goes in and out and the blood goes around and around.

He's sleeping now, saturating at a dismal 90% on average. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring better news. We've been told to be prepared for a couple days here. I am not entirely sure I can make it a couple days, especially since I know I won't be sleeping tonight (refer to numbers 2, 5, 6, and 7 above).

I hope this Memorial Day weekend is more enjoyable for all of you who have been so supportive on this ever exciting journey.... I appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Warm wishes,
EO