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August 20, 2002
After I parked the car, I took Jaida to the registration desk and signed in. I sat nervously listening for them to call her name. The registration clerk was a pleasant woman in her thirties and she spoke softly. I answered all kinds of questions about everything from our religious preference to any unique requests related to culture. We walked together to the room, following the clerk thru hallways that seemed to take us in circles. We took the staff elevators to the floor that would become our home for the next 6 days. At this point, I still thought we would all be home together by Saturday. I guess I was in denial.
Nurse Diane, our guardian angel breezed in with a bundle of energy. A small woman with curly gray hair and glasses, she was kind and very patient. I was reminded of Mrs. Santa Claus for some strange reason. Again, I answered about a million questions. After I gave her my best recollection of Jaida’s last antibiotic dose, she looked at me with compassion in her eyes. In a low, even voice that implied frustration, she said “it is so nice to see a mother that knows what is going on with her child.” I took that to mean she had more experience with irresponsible mothers that had no clue about their children than she cared to. I told her I did my best to be aware of every aspect of my children’s lives. We talked about the difficulty of working while mothering. She told me she had six children that ranged in age from 30 to 10! I couldn't believe it. All I could say was, "Wow!" Shortly after that, she helped Jaida change into a gown and they left to do an IV and some blood work. I unpacked my breast pump parts and looked for an outlet in the bathroom. Before I could put the parts together, Steve arrived. We talked and I admitted that I had been crying. He knew already and he tried to comfort me.
Dr. Ogunbi came in and gave us the plan. She had ordered a chest x-ray, urine and stool sample collection, and they would keep the IV in until she was rehydrated. I think this was the point that I figured out we would be here for more than a day or two. After she left, I pumped and tried to wash my pump parts as best I could. Steve and I discussed dinner and I left to go home and pack some of Jaida’s things. I knew she would need her satin pillowcase and her Clifford, the Big Red Dog slippers. I nursed Jarod and hurriedly gathered the things to take back to the hospital. When I got there, Steve had saved the dinner tray for me. I ate quietly and tried to smile and not look scared or sad. When it was time for me to go, Jaida got upset. We had to explain several times that she and daddy were staying but it was useless. Steve and I had decided that this was the only option since Jarod was exclusively breastfed. Jaida cried and I left before I did too.
The next morning after I got there, Dr. Ogunbi came in and asked some questions. Steve left to do payroll at work and tie up some loose ends. I tried to get Jaida to eat her breakfast and drink some juice. She was on her second bag of IV fluid and still no urine sample in the little bag they taped to her bottom. I mentioned this to Dr. Ogunbi and she made some notes. She felt Jaida’s abdomen and furrowed her brow. She said that a Dr. Patterson would be coming on Saturday and maybe Sunday as well. We said our goodbyes and I gave up on breakfast. Jaida was only interested in the bacon. It would be a long day. Steve came back and I left to run errands; the bank, gas station and grocery store. I took Steve some lunch and we ate in silence as Jaida slept fitfully in the bed. I went home to take a nap. Maybe Saturday would be better.
The next morning, Saturday, Steve called to say they had taken the x-ray at nearly 9:00 the night before. The radiology tech had taken Jaida in a huge Radio Flyer wagon. She was the celebrity on the elevator. Everyone had commented on how cute she was. He said she had picked at her breakfast again and that Dr. Patterson had not come yet. He asked me to bring him lunch when I came later that day. We hung up and I tried to go back to sleep. The house was so quiet and Jarod was sleeping late. Soon, he made noise and I tried to will myself to get up. My visit to Jaida that afternoon was quick and uneventful. She was getting some strength back and we visited the playroom across the hall to give Steve a break from 24/7 cartoons. I had to remind her not to walk too far from her IV pole while I found a plug to reconnect it to. I didn’t have much expressed milk to spare so I couldn’t stay long. Steve said he would call after the doctor left to update me.
I was in the middle of a restless sleep when he called. The chest x-ray showed pneumonia. Jaida had finally produced a urine sample while we were in the playroom earlier that day. The results of that were back as well. She also had a nasty bladder infection. I was stunned. I tried to clear my head enough to process what he said. I wondered if that was why she had resisted being potty trained. How long had she had it? We talked some more, he made his dinner request and we hung up. I went to tell Mom but she was asleep as well. I went to the kitchen to find a snack since I was starving. I looked in on Jarod and he was still sleeping too. I sat down and tried to pay bills while I waited for Jarod to wake up.
The next evening, Mom and Jarod went with me to see Jaida. The room was full when we got there with Steve’s cousin, her two daughters and her husband. The girls had been playing. I was already on edge and watching and listening to them running and screaming around the small room was almost too much for me. Suddenly, Jaida stopped mid-chase and asked to “go potty” while squeezing her knees together. Steve had neglected to mention that she had become potty-trained overnight. I sat in complete silence as she went to bathroom and used it successfully. She was also using more words. Finally, the cousins left and I was relieved. Jarod wanted to nurse and I was not about to whip out my boob in front of them, although I know they would have left earlier if I asked. I didn’t want to be rude. After Jarod was done I had my dinner and we left.
Sunday crept by and soon it was Monday. I went to work and answered all the questions from everybody. I tried to concentrate but it was nearly impossible. I took Steve and Jaida some lunch and tried to wait for the doctor. I decided to let Steve call me with an update and I left. He called and said the doctor wanted to change the IV antibiotic because the bladder infection was a very resistant strain of bacteria. Something called pseudomonas or something like that. I sighed and shook my head. When would we be able to take her home I wondered?
Tuesday was supposed to be the day we went for the MRI. I called Dr. Corbier to see if they could go ahead with it since she was already at the hospital. His nurse called me back to say the machine was down and it was rescheduled for October. I was a little unhappy but there was nothing I could do about it. My niece’s birthday was Wednesday and I felt so bad that I had not gotten her a gift. She would be turning 11 and I knew she would understand. I tried to remember her birthday every year and always get her something special. I called the school to tell them Jaida was in the hospital and she would miss her turn to bring a snack for the class. They expressed their well wishes and prayers and assured me not to worry, they could make other arrangements.
I was praying we would be able to make her appointment with the preschool special education program director on Friday. I had been waiting nearly three months to see this woman and I knew rescheduling would probably take at least another month or two. I wanted them to start the visits to Jaida at school as soon as possible. Even though she said they would accept the evaluation results from the developmental clinic she said they still had to test Jaida again. On Wednesday, we were pleasantly surprised when they said we could go home! I went by for lunch only to get to take my little girl home instead. Steve went back to work, eager to enjoy his freedom again. I took Jaida home and we all took naps. I was so ready to get back to normal.
Our saga continues,
Kim, Jaida & Jarod
---------------Talk To Me------------------
Tell me about the medical professional(s) that were extra special to you and your family.
Did you go through several doctors before you found the right one?
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