Pre-Xmas Chaos: A Trip to the Hospital

It’s been too long since the last blog. We had a very busy December. I did try to dwell intentionally in the season of Advent, but that is a difficult task these days. Maybe one year, when I am retired (assuming I start real work one day) and have free time again, I will spend the month of December in a retreat centre or something like that, away from the hustle and bustle and carryings on of pre-Christmas chaos.

Our particular pre-Christmas chaos included another bout of bronchitis for Lev, poor wee chap. This time it landed him (and me) in the hospital for the night as his little body was struggling pretty hard to breathe and he had been running a temperature for a couple of days. The need for admittance was partially brought on by his refusal to use the inhaler/spacer he was prescribed and the nebulizer in the clinic. But who can blame him – how would you like something shoved in your face by a stranger when you are feeling poorly and don’t really understand what is going on?

For my part, it was the first time I really had to struggle with that tension of knowing the medical staff need to do something to help your child and seeing your child fraught with fear over what is being done to them. The whole experience, which was relatively minor, made me appreciate a lot more the experience of some of our friends who have had to deal with hospitals and very sick children for weeks and even years on end.

Lev did seem to enjoy the ambulance ride from the clinic to the hospital. And he was a brave soldier when they took his blood. After he warmed up to his night nurses (aided by the distraction of Lion King on the portable TV), he managed to take the nebulizer without too much fuss. And the earlier trauma in the clinic clearly had not prevented him from understanding what one does with a spacer – he kept pulling it out of his nappy bag and putting it to his face and the face of his favourite stuffed lion. By morning, he was happy to have us administer his inhaler medication through it and was clearly proud of himself.

Needless to say we were happy to get back home to our own beds and a proper night’s sleep! Lev recovered fully very quickly and has been his normal, healthy, bubbly self ever since.


Our Room


Getting Used to the Instruments


Watching a Video with Papa


Can We Go Home? Awaiting the Verdict


Going Home!