Saturday, June 20, 2009

You just never know

what a day will bring.

Friday morning we awoke at Grandma's house, to a beautiful, albeit insanely hot day, excited with the possibilities of what fun activities the hours might bring.

After a breakfast of cinnamon toast and plums on the back porch,
hanging some laundry on the line, and feeding the birds, Grandma and I sat down to decide what we might do while Elijah played quietly with his toys nearby.

A little too quietly, in fact.

We only had to take our eyes off him for a second and he was gone.
Into the house, through two closed doors, into a closed drawer, opening a closed pill case.

And potentially eating one of my Grandma's blood pressure pills.

Because he had two in his hands, and one saliva-melted pill on his chin (and half on his shirt) we had no idea if he had actually consumed any. I pried his mouth open and found no residue, but that didn't put us in the clear. I opted for calling poison control and was told we could not take any chances with this type of medication, especially at his weight/age because it could very easily cause his heart to stop beating altogether.

And so in stead of a fun-filled day of swimming, sunshine, and playing with our friends as planned, we landed ourselves...

in the Deaconess Hospital E.R.

for seven hours.

And since it was his very first trip to the hospital, the doctors, nurses, and P.A.s made sure he got the full experience.

He got to be hooked up to a heart monitor and blood pressure cuff all day. Which was super cool because there were all kinds of wires and hoses to pull and chew on. So, that was good.

He got to wear his very own tiny little teal hospital gown, complete with ties in the back so his naked bum would show. Hospitals are so considerate when it comes to your comfort, aren't they?

Plus, he got to drink chocolate milk with charcoal in it for the very first time. He loved it and drank it right up like a champ. So, that was also good.

And then, to top the whole day off, Elijah had the pleasure of being restrained for 45 minutes while two complete numb skull nurses shoved needles into his arm. In the end, they were unable to start an IV after all. Seems the tears and torture were useless. Awesome.

It's a good thing the doctor came back in the room and stopped them when she did. Because I was just about to unleash the hot fury of a momma grizzly up on those idiots if they had spent one more second squeezing my poor baby's arm & gouging him with that stupid needle.

To break up the unbearable boredom of the day, my Mom stopped by with a bucket full of toys for Elijah, and some sandwiches for my Grandma and me during her lunch hour. What a life saver!

Despite the awful circumstances, Elijah was in remarkably good spirits throughout the ordeal. He never got too cranky, whereas I was beside myself with frustration by the time they finally gave me the discharge papers.

He was a perfectly well-behaved little patient; watching cartoons, playing with his toys, taking a nice nap and eating snacks (which included 4 popsicles, chocolate pudding, blueberries, cheese, and crackers). Everyone commented on how well he did for his young age. I really am proud of him.

But as we left, I gave him a stern warning.
If you ever pull something like that again, I swear to you, I will indeed beat your little butt into next week, mister.

4 comments:

C said...

I'm really glad it all turned out okay...what a stinker head.

I will say, though, that the time frame of the ER was partially b/c it's an ER (and what would you do if you were in and out in no time?) and also bc he needed to be observed for a certain amount of time bc of the medication (both the charcoal and the bp med). Also, as far as the nurses and the IV...that sucks and I'm sure it was frustrating. I will tell you, however, that there's no one else harder to stick than a small child/baby and EVERYONE dreads having to stick them (even me). BUT, next time, (hopefully there won't be one) just call me and I'll come to the rescue:-) Don't want that lil' boy hurting too much!

Jeri said...

Love your new background!!! And I am so glad that E was okay. He was such a trooper!!

Jen said...

That must have been really scary! I'm so glad to read that everything turned out ok in the end.

Jilli said...

So glad he's ok!! Love the pics though. He is just too cute!!!