Saturday, we had a regularly scheduled doctor’s appointment for Layla to see how she is doing with respect to her asthma. Unfortunately, we found out she wasn’t doing well. In fact, she was doing so poorly that she was going to have to spend the next week under the care and supervision of the doctor’s at the hospital. Again. Talk about getting the wind taken out of one’s sails, eh?
So we checked her into the hospital Saturday after getting a battery of tests done. The final verdict was pneumonia. I think. It’s hard to get a good understanding when I don’t even understand basic Japanese. Doctor language, even in English, is difficult for me to follow.
Her blood/oxygen level was hovering between 90-95%, which is low. Anything below 95% and she gets oxygen from a mask, so she’s got one on now, full-time. Saturday night, the nurse asked me which mask to use – one that feeds into her nose or a full mask that covers both her nose and mouth. Last year, she used the nose version so I opted for that one. I guess they tried out the full mask on Sunday morning, but, after trying it for a while, decided not to use a mask that covered her mouth because it blocked access to her thumb.
Layla’s a tough kid but also a coward. Anytime a nurse comes into the room, Layla’s eyes track them like a hawk watching their prey. She’s terrified of them. Even when they just bring her food, she starts crying, trying to get away from them. I think the only thing she doesn’t like is when they have to stick a tube up her nose that ends up going down her throat to clear out any phlegm she might have. I can’t say as I blame her, it is not at all a pleasant experience to watch – I’d hate to be the one actually going through it.
Today was a little bit easier as we’ve moved a couple more things to the hospital for her. She’s got her lucky bear, her miffy, a couple puzzles and colouring books. Even her laptop so she can watch her Elmo shows. I wouldn’t say she’s a spoiled kid, but I certainly wouldn’t argue if someone else did.
As the day wore on, Layla was obviously getting tired but the poor kid refused to fall asleep. I’m not sure if she thought we’d bail at the first opportunity, or just didn’t want to close her eyes while the nurses were still milling about, but she was determined to stay awake. At one point, she sat at the edge of the bed, her eyes almost closing as she stared out the door watching the nurses at work. “Getting sleepy?” I asked her, thinking I should lay her down. “Just peeing,” she answered without missing a beat.
Some time after 8pm, the nurses turn the lights out to try to get the kids to sleep. Layla’s sharing the room with two other kids, much younger than her, who like to cry when their parents aren’t around. One of the kids fell asleep and her mom left. Unfortunately, that kid woke back up not five minutes later, only to start crying. And not stop.
The previous night Layla refused to go to sleep even after the lights went out, wanting to play well past 9. Visiting hours are over at 9, so after the nurse came and told us, I told Layla that we had to go and she had to sleep. She accepted it, but I don’t think she liked it. Tonight, when the lights went out, Layla laid down and closed her eyes. I’m sure she knew we were going to be leaving soon and didn’t want to be awake when we did. Smart kid, eh? Or maybe just exhausted. In either case, she shut her eyes tight and despite the noise of her crying neighbour fell asleep in short order.
And now is when things get interesting. Trying to balance work and visiting hours should be fun – my plan is to go to work as early as possible so I can leave as early as possible. Tamie’s parents are going to help out, visiting Layla from noon. Tamie will head to the hospital as early as she can, and I’ll probably be the last to show up.
Hopefully she’ll be out of her jail-like hospital by Saturday. Only time will tell, I guess.
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