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Last night my mother-out-law called and woke me up at 9pm because she'd called her Only Son for computer help and he'd begged off with a bad cough. Indeed, he was struggling for air when I went and checked on him.
So, I called in to work again and took him to the VA ER. (hooray for VA hospital free medical care!) We were there for, I think, 5 hours.
The bummer of going to the VA is that I can't go sit with him in the ER unless I'm comfortable leaving the kid alone in the waiting room, because they don't allow kids in the ER. So I ran back and forth a few times, and then the kid and I went and scouted out the ground-floor lounge with loveseats and had about an hour nap. (It's a nice lounge. A+++ would nap again.)
They gave him multiple breathing treatments and stuff, and then sent him home with a bag of prescriptions, and are giving him a new PCP to go with his new diagnosis of more serious lung issues.
Note to self: Next time going to ER, take:
a) at least one jacket per person. I took my hoodie but the kid was freezing in her t-shirts and hoodie so she ended up wearing it and I curled up under a headscarf over my middle bits (where the shirt rides up and the pants don't stay up when you're bent over). Actually a couple of extra scarves would have done fine and fit in a bag better.
b) Don't forget my own phone so I can text people whose numbers I can't remember.
c) Tiny pillows if I can find them. The kind that can go in the wash when we get home. I'd like to pretend that we'd like to play electronic games or read a book, but every time we go to the ER, we're exhausted.
Maybe next time we do this the kid will be old enough to either come in, or leave on her own in the waiting room, because Raven could use the help interacting with medical staff when he's sick.
So, I called in to work again and took him to the VA ER. (hooray for VA hospital free medical care!) We were there for, I think, 5 hours.
The bummer of going to the VA is that I can't go sit with him in the ER unless I'm comfortable leaving the kid alone in the waiting room, because they don't allow kids in the ER. So I ran back and forth a few times, and then the kid and I went and scouted out the ground-floor lounge with loveseats and had about an hour nap. (It's a nice lounge. A+++ would nap again.)
They gave him multiple breathing treatments and stuff, and then sent him home with a bag of prescriptions, and are giving him a new PCP to go with his new diagnosis of more serious lung issues.
Note to self: Next time going to ER, take:
a) at least one jacket per person. I took my hoodie but the kid was freezing in her t-shirts and hoodie so she ended up wearing it and I curled up under a headscarf over my middle bits (where the shirt rides up and the pants don't stay up when you're bent over). Actually a couple of extra scarves would have done fine and fit in a bag better.
b) Don't forget my own phone so I can text people whose numbers I can't remember.
c) Tiny pillows if I can find them. The kind that can go in the wash when we get home. I'd like to pretend that we'd like to play electronic games or read a book, but every time we go to the ER, we're exhausted.
Maybe next time we do this the kid will be old enough to either come in, or leave on her own in the waiting room, because Raven could use the help interacting with medical staff when he's sick.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-01 01:12 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-03-01 03:28 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-03-04 09:18 am (UTC)From:I can't tell you what you should do, but I can tell you that when I was a young child, my parents parked me at the neighbors'.
You definitely need your own phone with you for exactly those kinds of lookup reasons.
I have a couple tote bags I leave packed. 1 has all the medical documents. Another has a washable fleece, a ziplock with 2 days of meds and vitamins, teabags, an emergency novel (cost a quarter at the library sale) a second teabag tin which has money enough to cover parking and at least one meal, a notepad and pens because no one will repeat anything ever so you'd better take notes. A protein bar and an empty water bottle. (There is water in the cafeteria and I don't want to carry the weight always, but having a container with a lid is very useful.)
It's been really useful to be able to grab and go.