Monthly Archive for January, 2010

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Blue Skies For Everyone

Published on January 24, 2010 in Hospital and Parenting. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Today was a beautiful day, weather-wise. The kind of day we consider going to the zoo or the park, letting Layla play on the slides or tossing a ball. The sun was bright, the sky was blue, the wind was brisk. Had Layla not been stuck in a hospital bed, I’d say it’d have been a great way to end the weekend… but alas…

I got to be the “hero” today, heading to the hospital in time for the lunchtime feeding to end. Tamie stayed home to do some chores as I went to claim my title for the day. I peaked in the room window to check if she was done her lunch only to see the poor kid sitting on the bed, struggling to clean up the mess she’d made trying to feed herself a multitude of things. Rice, chicken, vegetables, even soup was scattered on her bed sheet. I was shocked to see that she was supposed to feed herself given the fact that her hands are rendered useless by all the tape and they wrap around them to hold the IV’s and sensors in place… just another reason to love the staff at our local hospital.

I poked my head in the room and Layla pointed out she made a mess, proudly pointing out the rice, the chicken, the vegetables and even the spots of soup on the bed. I cleaned the sheets as best I could with the wet towel provided but, despite my best efforts, found myself picking up bits of food throughout the day. She was quite happy to see me, we talked a bit before settling down to read a couple books and colour in her colouring books.

After the initial blast of energy and activity, Layla slowly settled down into a more quiet state, wanting to watch videos (of herself dancing) on the laptop. We watched a few, several times each, before switching over to Toy Story. She did her best to fight off the sleep that I expected to come and, much to my surprise, did just that. She complained that she was hungry, but I suspected it was more she wanted to be busy eating to prevent falling asleep. Luckily, Tamie showed up before she complained too much and she got a second wind.

While Tamie was there, she continued to ask for snacks and juice. I discretely gave her a splash of orange juice from my backpack while the nurses were out, which seemed to satisfy her, at least for the time being. I never thought I’d feel like a criminal for giving my daughter juice.

At one point, one of the other babies started crying (it might have been just after the orange juice but I can’t say for sure =) and Layla wanted to go check him out. We did the best we could to stretch out her oxygen tube so she could reach… she almost made it. He wasn’t all that interested in us, though, crying for his mom who was yet to come. Layla quickly lost interest so I picked her up and carried her while the baby cried on. I realized I hadn’t actually held Layla in over a week and, despite my constant complaining and always trying to make her walk, I missed it. I could have held that kid all day today.

Eventually, we played with some of the hospital toys, each other, and even with the camera (See pictures here). Layla is definitely in better spirits and that makes things much easier on all of us. I hope that’s a sign that she’s actually feeling better and not just more comfortable (or accepting of her fate) in the hospital.

Around 17:30, I bailed to let Layla and Tamie spend some time together. It’s tough to leave the poor kid in hospital but I want her and Tamie to spend some time together as well. Being the “hero” of the day isn’t always easy, and giving them some time alone is one of those “hero”-ly things to do. That, plus, I wanted to grab a drink and a washroom break.

I got back to the hospital just after 19:00, and the girls were busy playing. Tamie was feeling a bit peckish, so I took the baton from her and ran the final leg of the hospital relay race. We played until 20:00, at which time I had to take the toys back to the playroom before it got locked up. Lights out came soon after, so I read Layla a couple of books before she ultimately laid down to go to sleep.

While we were laying in the bed, a nurse came into the room to do whatever it is that nurses do in lights-out rooms with people trying to put their kids to sleep before visiting hours ends. Much to my surprise, Layla leaned over and whispered to me. “That nurse is scary!” she said in a hushed voice. I chuckled, and agreed. “Scary nurse, eh?” she asked. I’m not sure why, but she’s recently picked up the use of the term ‘eh’. It’s hilarious.

After the nurse left, Layla closed her eyes to try to sleep. I laid beside her, waiting until she was out before getting up and leaving for the night. As I watched her suck her thumb and squeeze her miffy, I was surprised to see her eyes pop open and her lean over to me one more time. “Dad?” she asked, innocently and still in a hushed whisper. I leaned in closer to hear and she continued. “Tomorrow – grape juice.” she smiled. “And don’t tell mom!” Silently, I nodded before answering, “Okay, but don’t tell the nurses either.” She agreed, and with that she finally closed her eyes and eventually fell asleep.

In case you missed the link inline, pictures from today were uploaded here:

Click here for pictures
Pictures uploaded to here.

12+ Times a Year in the Hospital… Yikes.

Published on January 24, 2010 in Japan. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Just an article I read the other day about Japan’s medical system. Where I come from, you don’t go to the hospital unless there’s a chance you are going to die… I’m not sure if that’s every Canadian, though, or just got that from my Mom. Anyways, here’s the link:

In Japan You Visit A Scary Japanese Doctor 12 Times A Year,
from Tofugu
Interesting stuff. How true it all is, I’m not sure but I know at least some of the points are definitely valid.

One Week Down… Damn.

Published on January 23, 2010 in Hospital and Parenting. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Saturdays are usually days I look forward to – sleeping in as long as Layla would let us. Today, if not for the expected morning delivery of a shelf we ordered to try and organize the growing number of toys/books/etc that Layla’s acquired, we could have slept in as long as we wanted. And that idea, as nice as it might sound, really sucks.

I got up around 9, the alarm for some reason going off. Tamie said she didn’t want to miss the delivery, so I turned off the alarm and let her sleep while I got up to await the package. It eventually came (sometime around 10:30-11:00), and Tamie eventually got up, not surprisingly at around the same time (the doorbell woke her up =).

Visiting hours at the hours start at 12, but in order to get Layla to eat everything we usually show up a little bit later, after the nurses have fed her lunch. Today, I let Tamie go ahead as she wanted to be the “hero” of the day, showing up and taking care of Layla. Since I was the “hero” yesterday, I figured it was fair enough. Plus, Tamie had a dentist appointment so had to leave at 14:00, meaning I had the afternoon alone with Layla.

When I showed up, there were toys all over the bed – something I took as a good sign. Tamie took her leave and I was left with the poor kid and a bunch of toys. I offered to play with her but she looked tired and asked just to watch Elmo on the laptop and have a book read to her. So I obliged, holding her as she watched her show and reading the books she wanted. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep.

After her nap, she wasn’t in a very active mood, wanting nothing more than to continue laying on me and watching the activity (or lack thereof) around her. It was a pretty quiet day, once you get past the constant sounds of babies crying… I think we’ve all learned to tune that sound out (if Layla ever has a younger sibling, they’re not going to be too happy =).

Tamie eventually came back and I took my leave again, giving her a couple of hours time with Layla, at her request. I came home for a while to kill some time before heading back to the hospital. By the time I got back, Layla’s eyelids were getting heavier, but she still wanted to play so we all played with the toys on her bed. By 20:00, she was busy watching a video of herself dancing on my camera and took the opportunity to return the toys to the playroom they’d come from. Normally, lights out is supposed to be at 20:00, so I figured she’d be getting ready for bed soon anyways…

Eventually, lights out did come and Tamie and Layla laid to try to sleep while I read the next exciting chapters of Robert Langdon. By 21:10, Layla was sound asleep and we were free to grab some dinner and head home for the night.

Overall, I’d say her condition is definitely improved. She still is coughing more than anyone would like, and still has some kind of rattling in her chest, but her spirits are improving, her oxygen levels are up, and her coughing, while still present, seems to be getting better. I guess marked improvement is about all we can ask for every day, so for that I am grateful. Tomorrow is another day, hopefully another day of improvement.

Almost Forgot…

Published on January 23, 2010 in Family, Hospital, Japan and Parenting. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

I’ve been debating back and forth whether or not to post pictures of our poor, imprisoned girl online… I haven’t taken many, but I figured I might as well put them online now since I’ve uploaded a video thanking her Grandma for the pillows (which I forgot to link to in the last entry).

So, without further ado… The video:

And the pictures:

Picture of Layla
Click Here

7 Down, ? To Go…

Published on January 22, 2010 in Family, Hospital, Japan and Parenting. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Today was my turn to spend the day with Layla, and as difficult as 9 hours in a hospital sounds, it actually wasn’t so bad… all things considered.

I got to the hospital around 12:20, giving the hospital staff 20 minutes to feed Layla her lunch. I knew if I showed up earlier, she would only eat a portion of it. I think the fear she has of the nurses allows them to do pretty much anything they want to her. She’s hardly afraid of me, which means she isn’t afraid to say no when I ask if she wants to eat her vegetables. So when I arrived today, I was not surprised to see she had cleaned her plates.

Layla was once again in a different room, this time on a bed and not a crib (I wondered if they were worried about a man my size spending such a long time in one of their cribs?) I surveyed the area and saw a few kids I recognized, and some that I didn’t. One kid, who eventually was discharged (thankfully) wouldn’t stop crying. The nurse was trying to feed her lunch but she refused, turning her head every time a spoonful of food approached. The sad thing is that for most of the 90 minutes between the time I got there and the time her mom came to take her out of her cage, she was alone and crying. I wish I could say I was surprised at the nurses’ ambivalence, but it was something I am growing accustomed to.

Upon first arrival, Layla saw me and was quite happy to sit on the bed with me. I was happy to hear that she wanted to watch Elmo on the laptop I brought, encouraged by the fact that she actually wanted to do something… actually, anything. The apathy she’d had the last few days was fading, hopefully due to the fact she was feeling better.

The only problem, if you can call it that, is the sensor that monitors her oxygen levels had moved. It once was attached to her thumb on the hand her IV was in, but now it was on her free hand. Not that big of a deal until you realize that means that she is now unable to such her thumb. This place really was hell for her – they’d broken her spirits and now had taken away the last means of self-comforting she had. No wonder she hates the place.

It wasn’t long after lunch before Layla got tired and laid down. I was expecting her to take a nap for a few hours so grabbed a book to read (thanks again to Mom and Dad for picking up such a great Christmas present – who knew it would come in so handy, eh?) As usual, Layla fought the urge to sleep but eventually succumbed. This time, however, it was only for a short time – the nap only lasted ten or twenty minutes before her eyes popped open. When she woke up, she looked and saw that a few of the kids had disappeared. They’d been brought to the playroom down the hall. Of course, she wanted to go play too… unfortunately, though her cage was gone but her leash remained. She was still tethered to the wall with her oxygen mask.

One of the many student nurses came by to check on Layla and she was complaining about going to play in the play room. The student wasn’t sure what to do so went to ask the doctor. I frowned – I was hoping her inexperience and genuine sympathy for my daughter would have let her see beyond the black and white rules of the hospital and let the poor kid play for 5-10 minutes. As I suspected, the student came back and apologized, saying Layla had to stay on the oxygen and wouldn’t be able to play in the other room… but… if Layla couldn’t go to the playroom, the industrious student would bring the playroom to her.

Within five minutes, the student had a play kitchen set up for Layla, complete with food and dishes. Layla was so happy she yelled “THANK YOU!” with little prompting. We played for several hours with that kitchen. I was so happy to see my daughter acting like an actual kid again, playing and having fun. It’s been a long time since I saw her in such a good mood. I, too, give a big thank you to that student nurse.

While we were playing, the student nurse came by to say that today was her last day and she was grateful to Layla for putting up with the annoyances of being poked and prodded by not just her but all the students who’d been busy practicing on her. She reached out to shake Layla’s hand but was more than a little surprised when Layla jumped up to give her a big hug. It made me so proud to see her treat the good student so well, and even the nurse got a bit choked up (hopefully not because she was worried she’d catch something from the kid). As much as it annoyed me when those students first came, I was sad to hear that they wouldn’t be around any longer to help look after Layla… I felt like they were some of the only ones who actually cared.

At one point, Tamie’s mom stopped by to drop off a couple of pillows she’d bought for Layla. The only reason I knew was because a nurse came to tell me. I asked if she could come see Layla and they told me no, not even for a minute to give her grand-daughter the present she’d bought… I asked if Layla could come with me to see her grandma, but again the answer was no… so I left, leaving behind an immediately crying baby to say hello and pick up the pillows. I could hear the crying all the way down the hall… rules… gotta love ‘em.

By 16:30, Layla was starting to get a bit peckish, despite having a snack an hour or so before. She told me she was hungry and wanted to eat rice but I had none to give. Her supervising doctor came by around 17:00, and I told her Layla was starving… instead of offering some kind of snack, all she offered was apologies. I asked if it was okay to give her a snack but all she’d say was supper was in an hour and she was very sorry. And boy, what a long hour that was…

Tamie showed up around 17:30 and by that time Layla was in a bit of a grumpy mood. Unfortunately, Tamie’s appearance coincided with Layla’s growing hunger and Layla was anything but welcoming to her mom. When the food came (late) at 18:10, I decided (ie. was told to by my wife so she could get some alone time with the kid) to take a break. Layla cried, not wanting me to leave, but I did. I wanted Tamie and Layla to spend some time together so left them for just over an hour.

By the time I got back, they were sitting on the bed and Layla looked exhausted. We watched Elmo on the laptop for a while, coloured and played with stickers before she eventually laid down. Lights out came at 20:15 (fifteen minutes later than usual), but Layla was so tired from the day that she was out almost as quick as the lights were.

As far as Layla’s actual health goes, she seems to be getting much better mentally. She’s not afraid of every nurse anymore (just the ones who come in with the intention of shoving a vacuum up her nostril to clean out the phlegm and snot). Her wanting to play was definitely a good sign, as was the fact she’s eating everything. But it’s not all good news – her cough is ever-present and seems to be getting worse. The doctor asked us to consider upping the medicine we give her at home after she gets out of the hospital. But overall, I’d say it was a good day for improvement. I only hope the nest few see such big steps in her road to recovery.