Friday, April 4, 2008

Hospital chairs

Sorry about the lag in posting, Eldest and I have been in hospital for the last two days. My my my, wasn't that fun. We went off for a visit to a specialist on Tuesday, then she was in a WHOLE lotta pain on Wednesday, so we went into emerg on Thursday to try to push the scheduled tests up the dates we were given. They were scheduled for three weeks from now, and the level of pain seemed to merit an advance in timing.

The only way we could do it was if she was admitted.

You know what was great in the hospital here? The parents can visit whenever they want, and can indeed stay overnight. They even provide a pretty comfy chair. At least it seems that way at first. It was actually the grim chair of parent torture.

It is kind of like a lazy-boy, but slippery. There is also a very large gap between where the seat is and where the footrest is. The back does not recline down flat. Now. Don't get me wrong, this is a whole lot better than sitting up all night in a wooden rocker or something, but it wasn't the most restful night. It was the night of the deceptive chair from h*ll.

The choice was to sit/sleep basically on your back while you slowly slid down till your bum slid into the gaping hole, or sleep on your side, with your spine in an impressive c shape, and wait for your bum to slide into the hole.

I slept with Eldest for a while during the night,; she is getting kind of big for that to be comfortable in a single bed though.

Eldest is just the same, so you don't need to worry or anything, nothing has really changed and the pain has receded back to reasonable levels, especially since she got to lay around on her stomach for two days.

They ran a whack of tests, all the results we have gotten back so far are normal, which is good, we are waiting for more results, and then we have another appointment with the specialist.

If you ever have to stay overnight at a hospital with a kid, bring a blanket, SHAMPOO, and a pillow, maybe one of those silly looking neck ring things for in airplanes too, something non-stick might have done well for the chair from h*ll too.

Something more interesting later.

9 comments:

Beth said...

I hope the rest of the tests are negative. Did she actually lie ON her stomach and that helped reduce the pain? That would be some kind of clue, wouldn't it?
I spent a great deal of time in emergencies but never had a child stay overnight in the hospital. (And I consider myself very fortunate.)
Take care - all of you!

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elPadawan said...

aw. I feel sorry for the both of you. Hopefully, answers will come soon, so that you won't have to think about bringing blanket, shampoo, pillow, and stuff before a long time.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear she is in pain. I've done my nights in overnight stays in hospital. Another important thing let visitors bring you coffee !!

Anonymous said...

Ohhh how awful for your both! But so snuggy to sleep together even for a little while in a too-small bed.

Crossing fingers for a good outcome to this.

oreneta said...

Beth, you are indeed very fortunate. I know I spent more than one night there myself as a kid. Thanks.

elPadawan, the joys of parenting, and being a kid.

Lillian, I failed to mention that there was a coffee machine, only 60cents, and REALLY good coffee, several styles, ie, espresso, coffe with milk, American style, cappucino, warm milk or hot chocolate, decaf or regular for each. This is Spain, coffee goes without saying.

Trish, it was nice to snuggle for a bit, the other girl in the room was really quite sick and the nurses were in and out a lot which added to the rough night. Not half so rough as hers though.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I do hope they find the problem and can solve it. I spent a night in hospital with daughter C when she was 8. She was in emerg, and they waited until there was a space with two beds before giving her a bed. When the last patient in the second bed left, they didn't put anyone in there. It was ironic, the last person on the other side was our neighbour on our block. He didn't know we were there, but we knew it was him, the belligerent guy. Anyway, after the last guy left, they changed the bed, and then slid it over so I would have a bed to lay on, well, it was emerge, so one of those cot type rolly beds they have there. Sometimes it pays to live in a small town. She was able to go home by the next day (septic infection and dehydration). When our son got his appendix out last spring, he didn't need us to stay with him. There was a boy a year older than him who went through the same thing and they compared notes, played videos and talked the whole time and didn't sleep much. It was a decent experience for him as surgeries and hospital stays go.

kate said...

Oh dear, I hope she's feeling better and that you get some definitive answers soon. It must be so hard not knowing.

Anonymous said...

They didn't let us stay when our son went in to get his appendix out. But, he was doing pretty well and he had a good roommate.

My dad decided to stay in the hospital when my mom had breast cancer surgery. They only let him sleep in the waiting room as there were other women in mom's room. He said it was pretty uncomfortable. I am sure he can relate to your predicament.

Hope the eldest doesn't get in too much pain again.