We arrived at the hospital at 745pm and were immediately seen by the Triage nurse who weighed him, took his temperature (103F/ 39C!!!), his oxygen level (100% thank The Lord!) and then gave him a Panadol and Hydralyte with a special syringe to give him. We had to give him the Hydralyte (6ml) every 5 mins and note down whether he vomited or had diarrhea. Poor little man. He did NOT like the Hydralyte and started to cry and fuss whenever he saw the syringe. I had to hold his little arms down as I inserted the syringe for him to drink the Hydralyte. That was hard for me to do :-((
About 45 mins after we started giving him the Hydralyte, the nurse came out and checked his vitals, including his oxygen.
I was very concerned, as were mum and Howard. I started to stress at about midnight, when we tried giving Zachary some milk and he threw it up over the floor. The nurse came out and cleaned up the mess and tested his blood sugar (because Zachary still hasn't peed) and thankfully it was normal. I started to stress when she said that if he still didn't pee (his belly was pretty hard by this point), they would have to admit him and put him on an IV.
So I checked his nappy again and mum and I smiled when we saw that he had wet his nappy. Never thought I would love I see a wet nappy :-) We then were admitted into the back area of the Children's ER, where a Registrar (resident) saw us and examined Zachary. Little man was asleep (or rather, passed out from sheer exhaustion!) at this point, but thankfully the doctor examined him and found that his temperature had dropped. The Panadol had worked. She told us to keep his fluids up: Hydralyte, milk and water as well as diluted apple juice. She also advised us to stop giving him the antibiotic because he had a viral infection, not a bacterial one (and antibiotics only work against bacterial infections). She said the antibiotics was probably also killing the good bacteria in his tummy. She seriously looked about 12, making me feel like an old lady at 32! She was very knowledgable though and thorough in her explanations. She wrote a letter for our GP and advised me to go see the GP to make sure Zachary's ears were unblocked and give the ok to fly. I really hope we can fly this Friday for many reasons, including the fact that I start up chemo again next Monday and I don't have any pills left with me here!! God will look after us :-)
Finally, at 2am, we left the hospital. What a night!! I said to mum "it's scary having a sick child!" I can't imagine having a child with a really serious, life threatening illness. Mum looked at me and said "yes I know." I'll always be her baby, just as Zachary will always be our baby.
I have to say, Westmead Children's Hospital really impressed me. Not only are the facilities new and colorful, but the staff was bright and fun (they blew bubbles when Zachary was having his finger pricked for the blood sugar test), but they even have a hostel for parents to stay in and even a Starbucks (first one I've seen here since they closed a lot of the Sydney ones). They even had complimentary snacks and drinks for the parents as well as Internet access (although it was closed when we went there). Considering that I had to pay out of pocket and we were there for over 6 hours, being checked regularly by the nurses, we were only charged $120. I'm not sure what an ER visit in the US costs, but I was happy with the level of attention that Zachary got as well as with the facilities.
So Zachary is sound asleep and although I should be tired (and kind of am), I'm also wired! Being a parent is hard work! Thank God that Zachary is now ok.
We did have some "funny" moments. Like 2 year old Ingrid wanting to give "the bab some "milk". She even lifted up her little shirt! Her mummy explained that Ingrid is still nursing and loves to give her dolls "milk" like mummy does. Zachary was fascinated by Ingrid and even put on a stuff upper lip when Ingrid was watching him take his Hydralyte :-)
Ok I'm off to bed now.
Na night :-)
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