The Hospital

Well, little M and I had an unexpected turn-of-events last week.  M ended up in the hospital with bronchiolitis.  I'd never even heard of bronchiolitis until she was diagnosed.  It's a viral infection that starts as a cold and turns into a bad respiratory infection, especially dangerous to babies under six months.

On day one, little M started out sneezing, then a bad cough and then by day three she started vomiting after I fed her.  The hospital in F.oster told us to bring her in so I made the hour drive after dark, Sunday night, to get her checked out.  The doctor there noticed she was breathing quite heavily and put her on oxygen. He then told me she needed to be taken to Tr.aralgon hospital, another hour away, by ambulance (freaking out starts now!).

I was strapped to a gurney with M and off we went.  We arrived and were put in an acute bed in the ER - they had her on oxygen the entire time.  They then put a tube down her nose/throat so she could be fed. Poor little M! It was pretty horrible.

B and the twins got to T the next day and stayed in accommodation next door to the hospital for a few days after that.  The hospital set us up with family housing - you don't really realise how important these things are until you have to use them.

We were in the hospital for six days.  Day 3-5 were the worst. I pressed the nurses panic button about four times after M had a few scary coughing fits. The nurses were all fantastic and they loved M, of course!

At any rate, little M is much better now and back to her old happy self.  She's got the all-clear to fly in a few weeks, thank goodness!

My heart goes out to any family that has a child in the hospital for any length of time - it's horrible and heart-wrenching for everyone involved.  We're just glad to have her healthy and back at home!