Last week Anne had her first experience with vomiting. She is almost four years old, and this was the first time she had vomited. Needles to say, she was terrified! She awoke late Tuesday, early Wednesday, with a very bad belly that was expelling all it had.
She was fine most of the day Wednesday, but would not eat more than a handful of cereal. As soon as evening hit, she was back to vomiting. Thursday she slept on/off all day, and was lethargic at best. Friday, she was no better, so we went to see our pediatrician. Since she had not been running a fever, and was drinking small amounts, she was not dehydrated; however, he gave her until Saturday to stop vomiting (no matter how sporadically) and start eating, or go to the hospital.
Friday night she only vomited 3 times, and I was filled with hope that we were over the worst of it. Saturday morning came, she was barely responsive and vomited twice. Off to the Emergency Room we went.
The staff at the ER complimented our efforts at home, and said it eliminated a lot of the preliminaries, and allowed them to jump right into treatment. This being Anne’s first hospital visit she was understandably frightened, and MAD at us. The only thing she would say was: “I want to go home.” Given that during this illness she had stopped speaking, even her angry words were music to my ears. Unfortunately, the efforts in the ER were not enough for her to come home, and she was admitted.
We spent four days at the hospital, where she endured many procedures and tests. At the end of the four days, she was feeling MUCH better and was able to come home; however they never did discover the cause. Our official diagnosis was Viral Gastroenteritis, which (for us) basically meant complications from a stomach virus and dehydration.
It was one of the longest weeks I have experienced in recent years, but the four days at the hospital were made easier by their AMAZING staff. In a world where we often only hear the bad things, I have to say that the staff at Hope Children’s Hospital is EXCEPTIONAL. ❤ They did everything in the power, to help Anne get better, while trying to make her happy as well. Their Child Life Specialists were great with Anne, and were sometimes the only ones to get a smile. They went above and beyond to make sure I was comfortable, and assist in managing my stress. Our night nurse even washed my clothes, when I ended up covered in urine for the second time that day.
Although, we never want our children to need a hospital, I am thankful that we have such a wonderful one to go to when it is necessary.
Anne is home now, and we are all getting back to our version of “normal.” I am overjoyed to have both my girls under one roof again, even if they started bickering after the first hour. 😉 The typical Sister Dynamic is in full swing, but it wonderful to hear, after a week of us being apart.
Have a blessed day everyone, and don’t forget to smile. ♥
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