The peditricians office is behind the hospital. My house was about 10 minutes away give or take 5-15 minutes depending on traffic in the Rt1 or Rt3 area of Fredericksburg, VA...if you've been there, or live there, you know what I'm talking about. ANYWAY...I had to go back to my house to pack clothes and toys and things for our stay up in Fairfax. The Dr. told me to plan for 4 days but it might only be 3.
Why is it that when you need to go somewhere in a hurry...and things need to be packed, suddenly you have amnesia? I don't know how but my mother in law was already at my house when I got there. She must have been in the area because her house was 45 minutes from mine...
How was I going to explain to a 3 year old that his baby brother was going to be in the hospital and mommy and daddy had to stay there with him...and that he and "big brub" were staying here with "GG" and that his little brother was going to be fine? I don't even remember what I said.
I packed my clothes, Leigh, since he was staying in a hotel, already HAD clothes, and I got Bodie's stuff together...plus "Blankie" "Stripey Tiger" and a few Thomas trains that were usually "off limits" because they belonged to Carson...Carson didn't mind, he said. Back in the car...back to the hospital. I don't remember driving there....
They took us right back when they heard who we were...that's when the horror started!!!
They needed to do blood gasses and all this other stuff that I don't remember the names of now and I needed to fill out paperwork and insurance papers and BLAH BLAH BLAH. They needed to start an IV....yeah...good luck with that! He missed his nap, and is now totally freaked out with everything going on...hope you've got someone VERY TALENTED to start that IV! And as soon as I saw all the nurses and medical type people in the room I felt VERY helpless...and VERY alone...Then, all at once...I WAS alone...just me and Bodie and a clip board and a computer on a cart...and a TV that I couldn't hear. And I tried to play with my baby and tell him it was ok and I talked VERY softly to him...and he fell asleep...about 30 minutes had passed when a nurse came in and said she would need to draw blood OUT OF MY SON'S NECK because his blood gasses were all messed up because he was hysterical when she took them the first time. I was like NO WAY!!! This poor child JUST fell asleep you are NOT waking him up by sticking a needle in HIS NECK...ARE YOU CRAZY? Then the (not so) talented IV tech came in...Bodie woke up and was screaming again. The tech asked me to please "control" my child so he could get the IV in and strap his arm to a board! I had NO idea what time it was or how much time had passed, but right in the middle of the second round of chaos, the phone in the room rang. It was Leigh asking where we were and why we weren't at Inova yet. I had the phone reciever cradled between my ear and the pillow on the bed, my hands and arms were busy holding Bodie down and I recall yelling that we were still in Fredericksburg at the hospital and that I NEEDED him to come HERE NOW!
His car must have sprouted wings because somehow he made it from Faifax to Fredericksburg in 4:00 traffic on 95, in less than an HOUR!!! This in itself is a miracle at ANYTIME of the day...not just on a Monday afternoon when people who live in this area but work in DC and get out of work at 2 or 3 on their modified schedules are driving south to go home.
It took the tech 3 tries to get the needle into Bodie's tiny vein. He finally had to give up and let a nurse do it. THANK GOD! Whoever you are, you were amazing that day! First try, IV in...and now the room was quiet again...and we waited...and they would come in every so often and check this and that...I saw the LIFE CARE guys show up. They were standing around waiting for the hospital to discharge Bodie so he could be transported.
The hospital didn't discharge him until 8PM!!! We had been there for aprox. 6 HOURS!
The Life Care drivers asked me to get Bodie's carseat because they had to strap that to the stretcher for transport...UM...OK? Leigh went out to the car and grabbed Bodie's carseat and the Life Care EMS guys...because they really are EMS's not just "drivers" helped Leigh put Bodie in the carseat...carefully strapping him all in and not pulling on the IV...then they lifted him in the carseat onto the stretcher and strapped it all down. CLEARLY this was not their first time at the rodeo!! These guys knew what they were doing! FINALLY...I felt like someone knew their job at this place...on this particular day...(we have been there many times since for different things, and the experience was just fine!!!) I was able to ride with him in the ambulance and Leigh followed us...I didn't know where to look. At my little boy all hooked up and strapped in...or out the back window at my husband...who was so clearly upset and probably more scared than I was at that point(because by then, I was just about numb.) or should I look up to Heaven and begin my rant at God....No, don't look up just yet, Julie...save it up...Let Him have a GOOD earful when it' s all over...whenever THAT is....
PS...I found out later that the hospital kept us there for 6 hours because that way they can bill our insurance company for a FULL DAY in the ER!! Nice, huh?