The Hospital

So last week was interesting. We ended up taking a trip to the new Children's Hospital because Jake was having some breathing issues. I noticed it during the day, but thought that it was dramatics due to a cold. When he was still breathing strangely while he was sleeping, I forced my wonderful husband to call the nurse to see what she thought. I knew when his note taking tapered off that we were hospital bound.

So, 10:00 at night, we wake Jake up and put him in the car. I had been slacking on laundry, so Jake is wearing a blue fleece button up jammie shirt with snowmen on it, and gray fitted jammie pants with green wrenches on them, both a little on the small side. Nice, but I am worried now, and not about to change him, especially after the nurse asks us to bring a cell phone and call an ambulance if his breathing gets worse.

We are in the car, and driving to the hospital. Jake is like a new man. I can't remember the last time he went for a car ride after dark, and judging from his excitement, I don't think he can either. We passed by a pawn shop that had giant dollar signs in the window made from Christmas lights, and Jake nearly shat himself. "Look Mommy!!! It's the dollar store!! They have hundreds of dollars, and millions of dollars!! I want to go there!"

He is winding himself up more and more, and is bouncing off the walls by the time we get into emergency. We talked him out of a fit when he thought that he was going to have to go in a wheelchair. I thought that they were going to kick us out of there. But no, we got to wait in the waiting room. And wait. And wait. By which time Jake was expressing his frustration by declaring, quite loudly that it was "a big waste of time". I'm sure that everyone else in the room was impressed with that. If looks could kill.

Eventually, we got admitted. The new hospital has individual rooms, which was a big change from the old one, where it was a giant room with beds separated by curtains. Personally, I am big on eavesdropping, especially in a hospital. It combats boredom, and you get to hear gems like "Exactly how much pot did you smoke??" which I overheard at the old children's hospital. Yes, children's hospital. Anyhoo, we are in our new private room, complete with TV. The nurse comes in, the doctor comes in, and the respiratory therapist comes in, and they conclude that Jake is having asthma like symptoms. They are going to give him breathing treatments, but he isn't going anywhere until his breathing has improved substantially.

Hubby and I decide that one of us will go after the first treatment is administered, to relieve my brother in law who came to sit with sleeping Danny. Jake wants Daddy to stay. Daddy is less than impressed, because by this time it is 12:30 am, and the temperature in the private room is 25 degrees (77 degrees F) and there is no way to turn it down. I go home, fall asleep on the couch, and get the call to pick them up at 3:30 am. Hubby told me all about what I missed whilst we were driving back home. Jake insisted on watching the weather channel (this kid is obsessed with the weather, like you would not believe) for two hours. Couple the weather channel with the heat in the room, and the two rock hard plastic chairs beside the bed, and I was pretty darn happy that I got to go home. Jake didn't sleep a wink, and wasn't all that impressed when we made him go straight to bed.

He is doing fine now, no breathing issues at all. I think it was the nasty cold that brought it out, but I will be keeping a puffer at hand just in case it ever happens again.