There has been unexpected phrased
that comes in a close second to “Where did she get that scratch on her forehead?”
It is: I remember you!
I have run into a lot of people
from Christopher’s stay last year and we recognize each other. The first time, I saw a nurse on Saturday
morning and we were both like “I know you.”
I mentioned Christopher. She gave me the sweetest touch on my arm and
said “I remember you!”
A few hours later, our dietary
aid dropped off lunch and I said, “I remember you!” and she replied, “Yes, I
saw you sleeping in PICU. I didn’t recognize your daughter but I knew you!” Obviously, she had seen me sleeping with
Christopher and my drooling, snoring, wild-haired image had been seared upon
her brain. I remember her because of the outstanding job she
did then (and does now) at making sure my children and I have good things to
eat.
Monday morning, both our nurse
and our respiratory therapist walked in the room and immediately said, “I
remember you.” Our nurse, in fact,
remembers amazing details about our family!
I think I figured out this
morning why everyone remembers me so well.
Apparently, I am one of the few parents who sleeps with their sick child
in their hospital bed. Last night, I surprised our nurse when she didn’t see me
on the sofa and then saw a big lump in Bridget’s bed. Later, when I asked
Bridget if she wanted me to move and she cut me a sideways glance that questioned
my sanity.
Speaking of Bridget….
I’ve fallen so in love with her
during these last 5 days. She is an
extraordinary child in normal situations. But here, she is so strong and charming,
that sometimes I find my heart exploding with love for her.
On Friday, she “won the prize”
for being the best intake in the hospital:
she received her IV without any screaming or no crying. She was shocked they did that to her, but she didn't even have tears in her eyes. My brave
little squirrel even had to have another blood draw a few hours later from her
other hand and didn’t cry then either.
In PICU, when they were trying to
reposition us to go to sleep, they tried to get her into a more prone than a
sitting position. She was screaming NO!!
and hitting at the nurse when I realized that the previous nurse had told her
that sitting up straight would help her get better quicker. She is going to do what she needs to do to
get better.
She has this sly, charming smile
when she thinks adults are being silly or are telling her some untruth. We were watching Madagascar last night, and
during the song “I like to move it, move it!”, the nurse started to dance. Bridget gave her that smile and I swear the
woman’s socks just shot right off of her.
The doctors, nurses, and
therapists have been encouraging us to get her moving. We’ve had to explain to every single one of
them that the problem is NOT getting her up and out of bed. It is that she wants to run the halls right
now for the whole day. They finally let
her walk around for just a little bit yesterday, but it was too much. She pooped out last night and had to go back
on major oxygen. Today, she is not
allowed to even walk to the bathroom.
The problem is that she has
asthma and pneumonia or asmonia as the PICU docs called it. The issue is whether the asthma or the
pneumonia is worse and when do you treat which one and how since treatment of
one (exercise for pneumonia) aggravates recovery in the other (asthma). Bridget
apparently has a much worse problem with pneumonia than asthma. We are on Day 5
right now and although she is better than we she went into PICU, she is not
progressing. We are exploring our
options on how best to help her out.
She is tired of being here. Even a super squirrel like my Snidge can get
down. There are two ways I’ve discovered I can help when she gets really upset
about being here. One, we have an
ongoing story about Pirate Bridget who sails the seven seas with her six pirate
chickens. Pirate chickens are quite a
sight, in case you are wondering. Two, I
tell her what is wonderful about herself and I give examples about why I think
that from what she’s done here. It lets her drift off to sleep feeling good
about what is going on here and it lets me share with her how much in love I am
with her.
2 comments:
Your poor little peanut. Hopefully her lungs clear up and you guys can go home soon.
Also, have I mentioned probiotics to you?
I started taking them over a year ago..maybe two?. Anyway, I used to get bronchitis all the time and since taking probiotics (only on an as needed basis), I've not really had any problems with bronchiits.
I have a 5 and 7 year old and I give it to them when they start getting sick (or if a letter is sent home about the spread of this or that in the classroom) and they get better within a day or two and haven't really gotten fever sick. Just a few of the first signs of getting more tired easily, and crabby and extra drippy.
Maybe if you have some 'free' time there in the hospital you can speak with a nurtitionist or someone who might be able to give you true expert advice on them.
I just go to vitamin world at the mall to buy mine (PB10 which has 10 different strains of good bacteria)
Post a Comment