The great hospital adventure continues

Sorry I left you hanging there.  It has been a surprisingly busy few days.  Between visitors, our hospital explorations, and time spent in the play room, I just haven't taken the time to write.  And, yes, we are still here.  :)

If you missed the beginning of our story, go check these posts out ...

Deja vu all over again, part 1

Deja vu all over again, part 2

Deja vu all over again, part 3

Monday wasn't super exciting.  Not much happened.  Alex's belly was still full of the gas they put in for surgery, so he was pretty sore.  We did manage to walk down to the play room for a little while.  But mostly he slept.  He was allowed ice chips but he didn't like the taste of them (chlorinated water).  I coaxed him to eat some anyway.

Pastor Dick stopped by for a visit and brought a game - a gift from his wife, my friend, Becky.  She even sent the batteries that the game needed.  However, it required a little screwdriver, so we had to ask Mark from the play room if he could help us out.  He brought the screwdriver and even put the batteries in for us.  (Did I mention how nice everyone is here?  Well, they are!)  Alex did enjoy playing the game but mostly he just wanted to rest.

On Tuesday Alex was still pretty sore and full of gas.  The doctors and nurses kept asking him if he had farted yet.  I've never heard the word fart so many times as I have this week.  :)  We joked around with the nurses and doctors that Nick is more the farter in our house; Alex would be more of a burper.  :)

He was bumped up to clear liquids and had some apple juice and water, although he still really didn't want anything yet.  I managed to get him up and walking four times - twice to the play room and twice around the loop in our ward.  He was shuffling like a little old man and needed my help just moving around.

You can see the discomfort on his face.  :(

Daddy, Keira, and Nick came to visit along with three dogs, Jazz, Rufus, and Crackers.  We were excited to get dog visits.  And we got some mail - get well wishes from friends.

       

Before bed Alex kept saying his heart hurt.  :(  Then around midnight he vomited green stuff.  Like Shrek or Grinch green stuff.  And lots of it.  Ick.  We got him all cleaned up and back to sleep.  Then again around 2 a.m. he vomited again.  Poor guy.  I felt so bad for him.  It sucks being a mom when there is nothing you can do to help your child feel better.  We hugged and prayed and he went back to sleep and was okay until morning.


On Wednesday during rounds they backed him down to ice chips again because of the vomiting.  He was starting to move around better, walking without my help and moving faster.  We went out to the garden - there is a garden right here on the 6th floor balcony - and sat for a while.  It is a nice place to relax and has a great view of the city.  He was having frequent bowel movements and we were back and forth to the bathroom about 800 times.


He was smiling and even giggled a little and was more talkative than he had been.


However, around noon he vomited again.  The doctor (Dr. Tony - he never told us his last name - he is one of our favorite docs here) told me that if he threw up one more time, the NG tube was going to have to go back in.  An NG tube goes into your nose and down your throat to your stomach to help drain fluids.  And from what I'm told, it is no fun, especially for a little boy.  So we prayed and prayed that he would start to feel better and not have to have the tube inserted.  (If you recall from Part 3, he had a tube in after surgery but it wasn't draining well so our nurse tried pushing it down further.  Instead of going down like it was supposed to, it coiled in his throat and was choking him, so she pulled it out.)  


Daddy, Keira, Nick, Grammy, and Linda all visited today, since it was a holiday and no one had to work.  Once they all left, we settled in and waited for the fireworks.  We were told that we should sell tickets to our room because we would have a really great view.  For those of you who've seen some prior posts, you know that we did.





Our nurse, Maria, stopped in to watch them for a few minutes.  She said she had been in every room along our side of the building and we had the best view.  I guess if you are going to be stuck in the hospital on the 4th of July, you may as well have a great view of the fireworks.


Once the fireworks were done, we settled in for the night.  Praying for a good night.

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Deja vu all over again, part 3

Our great hospital adventure continues.  If you missed parts one and two, click on the links to get caught up.

So I left off with us waiting for surgery.

We were told Alex's surgery would be around noon.  His surgeon came to visit him at 10:00 and said that an emergency came in and his surgery would be a little later.  We said a prayer for the emergency and continued to wait.  We probably watched Puss 'n Boots on the free movie channel.  :)

At 12:35 it was time to go, so we weren't too far behind schedule.  I got to go with Alex into the prep area where they explained everything.  The anesthesiologist was great.  She was this short little woman with her glasses on the end of her nose.  I loved her immediately.  She asked if Alex had any questions and he wanted to know why his appendix got mad at him.  So sweet!  She said that she really didn't know why appendixes sometimes get mad, but when they do, it is best to get them out.  

They gave him something to make him sleepy and I said my goodbyes and went to the family waiting room.  It wasn't too busy since it was a Sunday.  Just a few other people there.  I sat and read until a woman came in and was talking on the phone near me.  I couldn't help but overhear her conversation about her 12-day-old grandson, Levi, who had gone into cardiac arrest that morning and was now on complete life support.

As I listened, I prayed.  And prayed.  And prayed.  I cannot imagine going through what Levi's family must be going through.  A mad appendix is nothing compared to that.

Once she hung up, I told her I would pray for her grandson and the family.  We talked for a few minutes.  I told her why I was there.  She told me more of Levi's story, thanked me for my prayers, and left.  I asked God to somehow let me know what happened to little Levi and I continued to pray for him.

Doug and the kids got to the hospital around 2:00 (with my list of supplies, thankfully), and then my mom called me from the front desk needing the secret code to get it.  I had forgotten all about giving it to her earlier.  Thankfully Doug had it written down in his pocket since my paper was back in the room.  Within a few minutes she joined us.

After only a few more minutes the doctor came out to tell us that surgery went well but that his appendix was, in fact, perforated.  He flushed out Alex's belly really well, but we would need to stay for 5 days of antibiotics.  He also told us that Alex had a tube in his nose that was draining the yucky stuff from his belly.  After another 15 minutes or so Doug and I were allowed to go back to recovery to see him.  He was still out of it, so he didn't really even know we were there.  He was the only patient in the whole huge recovery room, which was really strange.  The nurse gave us a couple stickers for him and we headed up to his room.  Doug walked down to get the kids and Gram so they could join us.

We got settled in, visited for a bit while Alex slept, then Pastor Dick called for the secret code.  He was up in the room with us in a matter of minutes.  I chuckled when Pastor walked in the room and said, "Wow, deja vu all over again, huh?"  He was here visiting us two and a half years ago when Keira's appendix ruptured.  After a short visit he prayed for us, gave Alex a prayer card, and headed out.

Keira was being a little nurse maid while here.  She kept asking Alex if he needed anything, holding his hand, and rubbing his head.  She's a good big sister.

I was excited to be able to finally take a shower now that Doug brought some things from home.  So while they were here, I freshened up.  It is amazing how something we take for granted, like a simple shower, can make such a difference.

Later in the day on Sunday after everyone left, Audrye (yes, that is how she spells her name) our daytime nurse noticed that the nose tube wasn't draining well so an X-ray was ordered.  They did it right here in the room.  It showed that the tube wasn't deep enough so they had to push it down farther.  When they did, instead of going down more into his stomach, it coiled in the back of his throat.  He was screaming, crying, and choking.  It was horrible.  Audrye pulled the tube out completely then.

Alex slept a good part of the day.  Probably exhausted from the surgery and the anesthesia.  And I'm sure he was glad to get that tube out.

I do remember carrying him back and forth to the bathroom about 800 times that day.  My back is still hurting.  I plan to go to the chiropractor as soon as we get home.

I'll write some more tomorrow.  It has been a long day (up early today for a procedure), so I'm off to try to sleep.  Ha!  :)

(And I have no photo for Sunday.  Doug brought my camera but I must not have gotten it out.  Nor did I use my cell phone.  Oh well.)

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Deja vu all over again, part 2

Our great hospital adventure continues ...

To read part 1, go here.

The ambulance ride was pretty uneventful.  Jon, one of the ambulance guys (sorry, I don't know their titles), allowed me to ride in the back with Alex instead of making me ride up front.  Alex was pretty shy since he didn't feel well, which is why.  It wasn't the most comfortable ride but it went pretty quickly.  They wheeled Alex into the ER at Children's, we got taken to a room, and the ambulance guys wished us luck and left.

cell phone photo - a ride in an ambulance - a first for both of us

I wasn't expecting to be in the ER as long as we were, but we ended up hanging out there for about 4 hours.  Good thing Doug grabbed me some dinner before we left the other hospital.  We went over the story again ... and again ... and again ... with each different doctor or nurse that came in.  They looked at the films from the CT scan he had and agreed that he had appendicitis.  They weren't positive about whether his appendix was perforated or not, but surgery was scheduled for Sunday.

Many times during our time in Children's ER, Alex asked me to take him to the restroom. I had to carry him like a baby each time since it was so painful for him to walk.  Thankfully the restroom was right next door to the room we were in.  One particular time, I sat him down on the potty and he vomited all over the floor.  I opened the door and asked the staff who were right there to please help.  I had nothing for him to throw up in.  One of the nurses brought in a bedpan since that was all she could find.  But by the time she brought it in, he was all done.

I had to chuckle at the one doctor.  He told me not to worry about cleaning it up while he threw some towels down on the floor.  I had no intentions of cleaning it up and was very thankful to the housekeeping gentleman who was waiting outside the door to clean up our mess.  He didn't look too happy even though I thanked him.

Finally, sometime after 11 p.m. we got moved up to a room.  As we got off the elevator and headed toward Ward 6B, it really felt like deja vu.  This is the same area that Keira stayed in two years ago.  Not the same room though.  We were on the other end of the ward.  I remember photographing the sun rise one morning while Keira was here.  In Alex's room we can watch the sun set.

Anyway, after all the late night visits from various doctors and nurses needing information we were finally able to settle in.  Sometime after midnight.  They never let you sleep in a hospital.  There always seems to be someone coming in to check vitals or administer medication.  Or the IV machine is beeping for one reason or another.

Alex slept pretty well, probably due to the morphine they gave him.  Early Sunday morning the docs made their rounds and we were told that surgery would be around noon.  So we waited.  And prayed.

Another already long post and my brain is mush from lack of sleep, so as much as I hate to do this to you, I'm going to continue later.  :)  Thanks for sticking with me.

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Deja vu all over again, part 1

Friday morning at VBS Alex came to see me after game time telling me he didn't feel well.  I told him he could just sit with me until he felt better.  Shortly after that he rushed into the bathroom and threw up.  I wasn't too concerned, just thought he got overheated out at game time and since snack time was right before games, I figured his cookie didn't sit well in his tummy.

He ended up hanging out with me the rest of the morning.  When we sat in the sanctuary for the closing, I asked him to just sit away from the other kids in case he was contagious.  We stayed at the church for lunch, but Alex didn't eat anything.  Once we got home, he curled up on the recliner chair and fell asleep.  We were all exhausted from the week of VBS, so, again, I wasn't really concerned.  He started to feel slightly feverish later in the afternoon, so I just kept giving him water or juice to drink.  He still wasn't eating.

Friday nights are popcorn and movie nights at our house and I was really looking forward to just relaxing with the kids after such a busy week.  We watched the movie John Carter (which I loved, surprisingly).  Alex stayed awake for most of it, curled up on my lap.  When he asked to go to bed, I took him up and tucked him in.  Nothing really unusual.

Around 4:30 in the morning he was standing in our doorway, crying and saying he didn't feel good.  He really felt hot so we went downstairs and got him some ibuprofen and a drink of water.  We snuggled for a few minutes on the recliner chair then went upstairs and snuggled some more in his bed.  Finally he asked me to leave so I went back to bed.

A few hours later he was crying again so Doug got up with him.  They went downstairs and Doug settled him in on the recliner chair where he slept for a while.  Keira told me he was fussing again around 7:00 but I must have slept through because I didn't hear him.  :)

When I finally got up around 10:00 (yeah, I slept in, it felt good), he was still in and out of sleep on the recliner chair.  He still had a fever.  A while later he started crying and told me he had an accident.  (He'll probably be mad that I'm putting that out there.)  So we got him to the bathroom and cleaned him up.  At this point he was complaining that his belly was hurting.

The symptoms were all starting to feel familiar (fever, vomiting, diarrhea) so I told Doug I was going to shower and take Alex to the ER for possible appendicitis.  (For those of you who weren't around back then or don't remember, Keira had a similar experience a couple years ago.  Hence the title.)

We went to our local hospital's ER, got taken back right away, and they started the tests.  The most traumatic part was getting the IV inserted.  My kids don't get immunizations (personal choice, not up for debate please), so the only shots Alex has ever had were when he needed stitches in his ankle last year.  They had to numb the area and stuck him about 5 times with the needle.  He was petrified to get an IV!  The nurses did an excellent job but couldn't get a good vein on his left hand and had to try again on his right arm.  That time they got it but not without lots and lots of tears.  I kept telling him to ask God to help him be brave enough.  And he was.

Once the IV was in they took 3 vials of blood for testing.  His white blood cell count was very high (they didn't tell me the number).  A little while later a radiologist showed up with a big cup of apple juice with contrast in it for Alex to drink.  After the first sip, he refused to drink any more.  But I convinced him because if he didn't get the contrast in his this way, they get it in from his bottom and that would be much worse.  The radiologist said it would take about 2 hours for the contrast to work its way through so she'd be back.  In the meantime Doug came in.  So we sat and waited.


Once it was time I went back with him for the CT scan.  He was scared but it didn't hurt him at all.  It only took a few minutes and we were back in the ER room.



Alex napping in the ER exam room awaiting the results of his CT scan.  (cell phone photo)


Another hour or so passed and the ER doc came in and said he had acute appendicitis and asked whether we wanted the surgeon on call to be called or if we wanted transferred to Children's.  Originally we said to call the surgeon (thinking it would be better to stay closer to home and away from all the busy stuff happening in Pittsburgh that day), so off he went.  After speaking with the nurse, who could probably lose her job for speaking so frankly about the surgeon, we decided it would be best to transfer.  When the ER doc came back after about 20 minutes, he said the surgeon on call never called him back so he was going to transfer Alex.  We told him we had changed our minds anyway, so that was great.


(On a side note, what surgeon on call doesn't call back?!  Isn't that the whole point of being on call?)


Anyway, a short time later Alex and I were in the ambulance on our way to Children's Hospital.


This is already pretty long so, to be continued ...

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