Those of you who are Sienfeld Fans should remember the episode where Elaine is trying to get her medical records because it has some info in it that she doesn't want. She keeps going to different docs and they all read it and mention something about it or look at her strange...well I was Elaine while Madisyn was in the ER. We got to the ER at Primary Childrens and the nurse that checked us in was a complete jerk. I told her about Maddie's condition and that she wasn't holding anything down because she'd been throwing up. The nurse just wrote down that she was puking but nothing about her condition. She told us to have a seat and they would call us in a minute. (*I carry an emergency letter with me at all times but was told that if I went to IMC or PCMC that they would already have it and I wouldn't need it, so I didn't provide it.) We were sitting there for 20 minutes. I am watching my daughter turn more gray and lethargic. I grab my emergency letter and take it to the counter, to a different nurse, and ask her to please take this to the doctor because she needs to be seen. The nurse read the letter and said she was sorry and they would get us back ASAP. She takes the letter in the back and I go back and sit down. The door opens and out come the crappy nurse. She kept saying things like "You have been bumped to the front of the line, in front of everyone else waiting", we were the only people in the waiting room. I looked around and she said "There are other people ahead of you they're just waiting in another part of the hospital". (This is where my sarcasm steps in), I looked at her and said "What, they're hanging out in the cafeteria?". I'm sure she didn't appreciate my response but I didn't appreciate her treating us as if we weren't important. I was arguing with her for a few minutes because she was acting extremely rude considering she's working in the ER of Primary Childrens. Anyway, I told her that I wanted a different nurse, preferably one that was so indifferent. She left and we got called back about 2 minutes later, by her, and taken to our room. She said that our nurse would be in shortly, I was releaved, and then in walks the Social Worker. Yup - She sent me a social worker. With the way he was talking to me I was sure she must have told him I was some crazzed lunatic mother that needed calming down. Of course I was fine by that point and he only stayed about a minute. For the rest of our time in the ER every person that came in said that they were sorry about our earlier confusion and that they were appreciative of our patience when they weren't sure what to do for her. It was an experience that I wont soon forget, and if there happens to be a next time I will definitly give them my letter no matter what. They asked me to fill out a survey about my experience before they released Maddie, I was glad to that for them.
I had the worst Mother's Day this year. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to be a mother to my children. They are the best things that ever happened to me. I never knew that I could love someone so unconditionally and completely. They bring me such joy and happiness. I am very blessed. They are the hardest job that I have ever done but they are the most rewarding.
Well.... I woke up at 4 on Mother's Day and fed Madisyn. Nothing was out of the ordinary, she ate, she burped, we went back to sleep. I woke up again at 8 for another feeding and once again she ate and burped. She stayed awake and played with Kate while Josh made me breakfast. I hear a little gaging and look on the floor to see Madisyn covered in puke. She did the same thing an hour later after I fed her a little. We then gave them a shower (that was interesting) and were getting ready for church. Once again she ate a little and puked all over. We decided against going to church since she was throwing up and all I would need is her to puke in Sacrament. She threw up again, rather violently, and fell right to sleep. That's a concern for me because that tells me that she's running out of energy, and you know thats a problem with her having MCAD Deficiency. I start to get concerned and I can see the concern in Josh's face as well. I decide that I would call the doctor since it's 1:00 and she hasn't kept anything down for far to long. I call the Metabolic Specialist which is of course an on call doctor. She takes my info and says to pack for the hospital and she'll call me back in 20 minutes. I pack like a mad man while crying. Josh is on the virge of tears, my Mom is crying, I can't even think straight; I'm a complete mess. She calls me back in 10 minutes and tells me to get to the hospital ASAP. I'm directed to go to Emergency and Primary Childrens and that they are waiting for us. (see follow up post entitled "My Life is a Seinfeld Episode" to hear about my Nurse experience). So after 6 hours in the ER with her throwing up two more times and receiving a catheter, IV, and having her blood drawn, she's admitted and we spend the night praying for her to start eating.
She was so tired the entire stay but the nurses in our unit did their best to play with her and they were crazy about her smiles and her toes.
Daddy feeding Madisyn on Monday morning before they would release us.
Maddie and Mommy. Look at her adorable little hospital gown, I didn't know that they made them that small.
They put her IV in and wrapped this hard cast with pink so that she wouldn't pull it out. This is what she looked like for most of the time we were there.
I was extremely grateful for the nurses and doctors who took care of my baby and helped her before anything bad happened. She went through a lot but she was a trooper, only doing a minimal amount of crying and smiling at everyone who came in to check her once we got to Monday morning. She was released Monday at 3:00 and we are taking her back for a followup appointment tomorrow. I guess you could say that it was the best and worst Mother's Day ever. The best part is that my baby is okay, I got to bring her home, and she and Kate are my whole life, along with Daddy, we love Daddy.