Re: Thanks to ALL, was: OT - urgent message from Larisa

On Feb 14, 12:41 pm, "off kilter quil...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
<larisav...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.  It was scary and
definitely a rough morning.  Thomas was home yesterday because he
wasn't feeling well and couldn't eat.  However, he seemed better at
lunch time and even had a PB&J and some homemade Pedialyte.  By
dinner, he was unable to eat and wanted nothing more than to lie down
and maybe watch some DVDs, so he went straight to his room.

This morning, at 230, he was crying for me and saying he hurt and was
hot, then he either threw himself or fell into my bed - not 100% sure
as I was still trying to get my eyes to focus.  He ran into the
bathroom and asked if I would take his temperature - it was 97.8.
Back to bed he went, sweaty, clammy to the touch, but seemingly ok.
Then a few minutes later he was back in the bathroom saying he felt
like he was on fire...temp had dropped to 96, and since that is NOT
normal to me in any circumstances (unless you are in cold water or
something), I decided that he was going to the hospital.  I ran back
and got dressed, waking hubby up enough to tell him that I was taking
Tom to the hospital.  Apparently part of what I said registered
because he woke up enough to see me getting dressed and to help me get
Tom into slippers and a sweat jacket.  Meanwhile, DD woke up, heard me
say that socks need to be put on, and she started putting on her
socks!!  I told her that she needed to go back to bed and that I was
talking to Tom, but no dice, she was WIDE awake!

We finally got to the hospital a little before 3am and it didn't take
any time to get him into triage...poor kid, the oral thermometers
wouldn't register his temp because it had dropped so low, he was
shivering uncontrollably, and didn't have the strength to do much
other than ask for a hug.  The were finally able to get a reading with
the new temporal thermometer, got his blood pressure (79/58) and got
him in one of the secluded rooms that had a bathroom right next to
it.  The wonderful triage nurse was extremely helpful in trying to get
his temp up by bringing in at least 6 heated blankets, including one
to wrap around his feet - he was still not getting above 97.

Finally, around 445 or so, I flagged down a nurse to ask what was
going on and why we were still sitting there, unseen.  It has been my
experience in the past that children with symptoms like my son used to
be given priority over adults who were depressed, especially when the
adults were being monitored by police as they waited transport to the
mental health unit (in this case, located in the basement of the
hospital).  Well, she said that if they were afraid that said adult
was suicidal, he would come before my child.....My "Inner Larisa" got
let loose a little bit because, having btdt, I could tell her that no
amount of supervision would stop a person from killing themselves if
that's what they wanted to do and that the best and only thing that
could be done was to get them to the mental health unit ASAP, freeing
up other medical personnel to see the other patients.

Anyway, the doc (only one on duty) FINALLY got to see us a little
after 5am, barely spent any time with us, and after pushing on Tom's
belly said it wasn't appendicitis, but a gastro-intestinal virus and
that it is "normal" for the body temp to drop; go home, get sleep;
clear liquids for the rest of today; back to school tomorrow if better
or to regular doc if not any better.  The nurse said Gatorade and
jello, but the papers she gave us said NO Gatorade or
Jello....argh!!!

In the meantime, DD stayed up until around 430, DH staying with her,
trying to get her to sleep.  When we got home, Tom went back to bed
with his sweat jacket on, 3 fleece blankets, and his sheet.  I went to
go to bed, but lost DH...he had gotten up and then moved to one of the
chairs in our bedroom - I didn't see him until he snorted and scared
me half to death.  I will be using the diet that Tom's regular doc
says to use - bananas, rice, applesauce, toast (BRAT, which seems *so*
appropriate right now), adding in unflavored Pedialyte, which I've
flavored with blue raspberry jello mix (can't get any of the others
because they either have dyes that Tom can't have or flavors that he
can't have due to allergies).  He likes this mix, so I'm pretty happy
with it.  He has eaten 2 slices of toast and a banana already as well
as a cup of the Pedialyte mixture and is asking for more food.  I will
get him either some jello or an italian ice (can't get popsicles
because of dyes and flavors, but italian ice that I get is colored
with vegetable dyes, so is ok for him).

I'm going to finish checking emails, then get everybody some lunch and
tuck everyone in for nap/quiet time.  I know that Bek will be sleeping
with me in the bedroom, Tom will probably be watching DVDs while in
bed, and Ken will probably crash out on the living room couch.

I was bored and stressed when I IM'd Karen, so I was testing out
different features on my cell phone.  I also know that this group is
good at sending prayers and good thoughts when they are needed.  In
all honesty, I think it was the power of prayer, etc. that kept me
from going completely bonkers on the ER staff as well as the children
(Oh yeah, shortly after we got home, Bek woke up again and decided to
just walk into Tom's room and turn his light on....I wake up when
lights go on or there are odd noises, so I was up in a flash and got
her back into bed with a little talk about intruding into other's
space and how Tom was sick and we didn't want her to get sick as
well).

Thank you all again, and please know how much this group is
appreciated for everything you have done for me and my family.  With
luck, none of the rest of us will have to deal with this, but we are
prepared for the worst - turns out that the flu vaccines that were
given out were for the wrong strain - Bek is the only one who got it -
Tom can't get the flu shot because it is grown on eggs, to which he is
severely allergic, Ken and I don't bother with them because we have
always gotten sick after the shots to the point of almost needing
hospitalization, but without the shot, we only get a little
uncomfortable.

Larisa, getting lunch for the monkeys, then going back to bed

Hopefully he's on the road to recovery - scary stuff tho'. I'm glad
your *Inner Larisa* let loose - some times that just has to happen.

Sharon (N.B.)
.

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