The "big kids" and I returned from our two-week vacation late last night, right on schedule. (Or at least within shouting distance of the schedule. We were less than two hours late.) LW and Michael, sadly, are still back in Utah and won't fly home until Wednesday.
Why? Because LW was still in the hospital when our plane departed Salt Lake City. The little guy came down with a stomach bug Wednesday morning when we were in St. George. By the time we arrived back at Michael's parents house in Utah County on Thursday afternoon, he was listless. We took him to an urgent care facility in Orem (the nearest one that worked with our insurance), and they sent him to the ER.
He ended up with an oxygen mask, a nebulizer treatment, and (eventually) IV fluids. Poor kid apparently ended up with my veins, and the ER nurses had to call someone down from pediatrics to put in his line. Unfortunately, not before they tried first.
At one point, they told us the hospital didn't have a bed for a pediatric patient and they would need to move us to the American Fork hospital (where the three older kids were born) or Primary Children's in SLC. Luckily for us (but unfortunately for someone else) they ended up transferring another child to Primary Children's, so we didn't have to move LW.
I stayed with LW Thursday night, Friday, and Friday night. By Friday morning, he was doing a lot better, and my biggest problem became trying to get him to eat or drink something. Have I mentioned before how remarkably stubborn he can be about food? I managed to coax about a cup of juice and 7 small cubes of watermelon down him. All day.
Michael called the airline and rescheduled his and LW's return flight, and I braced myself for leaving my little boy in the hospital.
Friday night, LW went to sleep at 7:30 and slept through until 6:30. He did cry out once or twice, and I had to untangle him from his IV cord. The nurse described his sleep as "restless" but it was pretty much how he normally sleeps.
He woke up cheerful, requesting, "You hold me" and climbing into my lap, then quickly got fussy about his IV and the lack of Donald Duck on TV.
When I called Michael from the airport, LW was back to his usual naughty curious self, playing with the buttons on the bed. Of course, it took until the afternoon to actually get him released from the hospital. He still wasn't really eating or drinking, but he has a better chance of doing that at Grammy and Grandpa's house, away from the IV fluids.
I don't envy Michael having to fly cross-country with LW on Wednesday without another adult. I wonder if he realizes he sent the portable DVD player home with me . . .
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3 comments:
Thanks for the update. I'm so glad he's been released from the hospital. Did anyone else get the stomach bug? The whole situation sounds *awful*.
Speaking of Michael flying home alone...I flew home from Disney alone, with all three kids. Imagine my delight when we arrived at the airport and our direct flight was cancelled (American airlines). Long story short: sent to another airline and re-routed through Washington DC, arrived at midnight instead of 7pm as planned.
Yikes about your flight change. Traveling is crazy these days. (Although I do have to thank Delta for waiving the change fee.)
The doctors think LW had rotavirus, so the rest of us were probably already immune. His immune system was also probably weakened by the cold he, Michael, IM and EM were sharing.
Glad you made it home safe and sound, and really glad that LW is doing better. We'll hope for a good return trip for Michael and LW on Wednesday.
OR Mom
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