Hospitals

Three months ago today we were sitting in the ER of Loma Linda waiting to be admitted. Brendan was very sick and we had no idea why, all we knew was that our baby had almost lost a pound over two days, he wasn't eating, he didn't cry and he was not acting like normal baby. I was so upset, all I could think about was the possibility of losing this precious baby I had given birth to only three days prior. My heart hurt knowing that my baby was sick and there was nothing I could do. The doctors at Loma Linda were wonderful and after a weeks stay, Brendan was over his birth weight and was eating like a healthy baby.

Now, Three months later, our baby is sick again. Wednesday afternoon, our friend Tawni picked Brendan up from day care, she called me at work to tell me she thought Brendan was sick. At this point it was 4:30 and I knew the doctor's office would close soon, so on my way home, I made a call to the doctor's office to see if there was anything that I could give him or if I needed to come in. The nurse called me back a few minutes after I got home, I explained his symptoms as I checked his temperature, 101.2 degrees. "How far away are you?" was the response I got. So Scott and I quickly grabbed Brendan, a blanket, the car seat and ran out the door. No diaper bag, no medical card, we left everything, even my cell phone! When we got to the Doctor's office, Dr. Mackey looked Brendan over, talked to me a little bit and then left the room saying "I need to make some calls." I was pretty calm at this point. Scott had been sick for at least 5 days, and I was starting to feel sick the previous day, we figured that Brendan just caught our cold, as careful as we had been, we couldn't keep him away from it.

Dr. Mackey came back in and said "Okay, you have been admitted" WHAT?? "Go to Riverside Community Hospital, enter through ER, tell them you have been admitted to the pediatrics ward, I will meet you there." My first thought was that I was suppose fly to Sacramento the next day. So I asked him, "do you think we will be there overnight?" his response was "you will be there a couple of days." Looks like my plans just went out the window, I was ready to cry. All of the sudden, the thoughts and feelings from three months ago came rushing back at me. The feelings of depression and all that comes with being in a hospital for a week with such a tiny baby.

I held it together as we drove to the hospital and got Brendan checked in, the nursing staff in the pediatrics ward were great, I had a much better experience than when he was born. It could have to do with our doctor too, Dr. Mackey wanted to be sure everything was okay with Brendan and not take any chances. So they ran a number of test on him, gave him an antibiotic and then we waited. All tests came back negative, his white blood cell count was normal. Looks like he just has a cold. Part of me was frustrated that we were in the Hospital for a cold, but the other part was thankful that we have a doctor willing to go the extra mile to insure his patients are healthy.

I stayed the night with Brendan in the Hospital. Scott went home and brought me back a change of clothes, the diaper bag and of ocurse my cell phone! Brendan and I came home yesterday evening at 5:00.

Now, this morning, I am sitting waiting for the doctor's office to call so I can make a follow-up appointment for today. I am hoping still to be able to go to Sacramento but we will have to wait and see what the doctor says.