Monthly Archive for January, 2010

Page 3 of 4

Day 6… Feels Like Day 60…

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

Today I went to work early to be able to leave early so that I might spend some time with Layla at the hospital again. On the way to work, I scrambled to find a seat on the train but to no avail. Before I even entered the train car, the seats were full and there were plenty of people standing. It’s an interesting thing riding the trains here. There’s no way to tell who is getting off and who is on for the long haul… no way, except experience and a little bit of luck.

When I first got on the train, I stood in front of an older lady who was busy reading a book. Usually older ladies don’t stay on the train for very long so I thought I was assured a seat eventually. But, as I often do, I scanned the train to evaluate any better potential seats-to-be. On the far side of the car I saw what I’ve come to learn is gold when mining for a place to sit… a student. There, sitting between two big sleeping guys was a small, Japanese school girl, also sleeping. It was a bit of a risk to move from the old lady, but I fought my way slowly to where the girl slept, taking up a position right in front of her.

As the train pulled up to the next station and the girl didn’t wake up, I was kicking myself. I tried not to look back at where the old lady was sitting, but curiosity got the better of me. Luckily, she was still there so I didn’t feel too dumb for moving. About a million people climbed onto the train and I was stuck, standing in front of the small girl.

The next station was only a couple minutes away, but luckily when the announcement came on, the girl woke up. I was delighted to see that as the train stopped, she was the only one to actually get up and get off out of the whole coach. Even the reading old lady had put away her book and was fast asleep, obviously expecting a long haul to her final destination. As the girl left, I placed my derriere in the spot she vacated, squeezing ever so gently between the two husky gentlemen who were quickly trying to expand to fill the new void. They seemed almost as happy to have me sitting beside them as I was to have them touching me.

Yep. I love taking the train so early.

Work went by quickly – almost too quickly. I had planned to leave by 15:00 so I might get to the hospital before 17:00, but alas it was not to be. Trying to catch up on work proved to make a busy day – I got out of the office after 16:30, a little later than I’d hoped, but still earlier than I should have given the work left to do. Especially considering I needed to work from home tomorrow so I could take my shift at the hospital from noon.

I got to the hospital just after 18:00. Layla was busy eating her meal and seemed to be in good spirits, thankfully… at least, until she saw me. Then she cried. Being the strict father that I am, I told her I wouldn’t hold her until she finished all her vegetables. I’ve never seen any kid eat vegetables so fast in my life – I don’t even think she chewed.

The night went by quickly, with Layla in better spirits and a better oxygen number than she’d previously had (hovering between 94~99, which seemed good to me). She actually wanted to read books and play with some stickers, two activities that she had previously shunned. I took that as a good sign too, although I think it was more because she wanted to stay busy to prevent herself from falling asleep. As it was, by 19:30, she was already laying on me and by 20:00 she was out like a light.

I’m not sure what her status is right now, medically, but I was happy to see she at least seemed more aware and more alive today. She didn’t just want to passively sit and watch her surroundings, something I spent most of the day yesterday doing with her… believe me, the surroundings aren’t that interesting… even when they’re full of young student nurses wanting to play doctor.

Tomorrow is another day, and hopefully one with more progress towards health. I’ll keep you posted.

Medicine, By The Book

Published on January 20, 2010 in Family, Hospital, Japan and Parenting. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Today I worked from home in the morning so that I could head to the hospital when visitor hours first started, as Tamie’s parents weren’t available to be with Layla. I was up with Tamie, who went to work early so she could come back as soon as possible. If there’s one thing I’ve learned (or more precisely, confirmed) is that I am not a morning person.

At noon, I went to the hospital to be with my poor baby for the bulk of the nine visitor hours of the fifth hospital day. I got to see, firsthand, how screwed up a medical system can be when it treats patients as jobs instead of as people. Or at least, that’s my take on it. If you don’t want to read mindless complaints about ridiculous hospital policy, I suggest you skip this blog.

It started out fine, Layla was happily eating her lunch until she saw me… I flew past the window of the room she’d been moved to as I headed for the room she was in the day before. 5 days, 3 different rooms. The nurse turned me around and by the time I got back to the poor kid she was crying, wondering why I didn’t come to see her. I chuckled.

There were three nurses milling about as I sat with her to feed her the rest of her lunch. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was a sign of things to come. After she finished eating all the meat on her tray (vegetables are for sissies =), we moved back onto her bed… or ironing board, as it felt like after sitting on it most of the day. We talked for a bit before she settled in to watch her favourite Japanese video on the VCR-equipped TV in the room.

As the video played, a nurse dropped by and introduced herself to me – a first in all our time at the hospital. She told me she was a university student and she was doing a 4-day co-op at the hospital. Awesome. Layla’s going to get special attention from an overly eager student trying to impress, or so I thought. Over the course of the day, I found out it wasn’t just one student, and overly eager was a bit of an understatement.

On a typical day, nurses dropped by occasionally to check Layla’s temperature, her heartbeat, listen to her lungs, etc. On a day with a bunch of co-op students, I realized that not only do nurses (who still scare the sh*t out of Layla, by the way) come by, but now we’ve got aforementioned overly eager students who want their turn at listening to a rattle in a chest or taking a turn sticking a thermometer in an armpit. At one point there was a crowd of 7 people standing around the bed, each with a stethoscope, standing in a neat little line waiting to listen to Layla’s chest. At least she’s starting to get over her fear of nurses – that fear, I think, is slowly being replaced by a feeling of annoyance.

One of the rules that Tamie’s been trying to hammer home but I’ve ignored is the fact that every kid in every bed gets the same diet. Every day I’ve taken Layla a juice box or a snack that she usually is quite happy to have. Today, while she was eating dinner with me and Tamie, she asked for some juice so I got her some. Around the same time, the mom of the neighbouring baby disappeared. Not a minute later, a nurse came in and scolded us on bringing in the lethal outside food into the sanctity of the hospital room. She then continued, saying I shouldn’t even have a bottle of tea for myself in the room – that if I wanted a drink, I should go out in the hall to drink it. That’s the rules, no exceptions. Apparently. So now? I have a rivalry with the neighbouring mom… and a stash of food for Layla that I gotta sneak her when my nemesis isn’t watching.

I took a break after Tamie got there, to get some air (and drink some tea in the hall). When I came back, another rule had gone into effect. Tamie’s parents, who had been staying with Layla for a couple of hours while we tried to keep some semblance of jobs, were no longer allowed to visit her. It was bad enough that they were only allowed in when both parents were unavailable, but now, for reasons yet to be determined, no one but us were allowed to stay with Layla. So now, with no warning, one of us have to call in to work tomorrow and get the day off. The fact that Layla is probably going to be in the hospital longer than a week (more on that below) just makes the change in rules all the more ridiculous.

The last thing I’ll complain about (for now) is the fact that since yesterday the nurses have been asking us to wear masks when we come to see Layla. Annoying because spending 9 hours in a hospital is bad enough, but spending it confined to a bed, breathing through a mask with nothing to eat or drink is almost unbearable. The more annoying thing is that we seem to be the only family who get asked to wear them, as there were two other moms in the room today who were without masks. To be honest, after the first five minutes I was without a mask too, but it’s still another in a growing pile of straw on this camel’s back.

So how’s Layla doing? I wish I could say she’s doing well. I thought she was getting better, but the doctor told Tamie tonight that she isn’t responding as quickly to the steroids as she did last time. What it means is that she will probably be in the hospital an extra week (or more), her medication will get upped or changed, and in the absolute worst case she’ll be a bubble girl for the duration of her stay there. At least that’s my understanding, which is usually wrong so take it with a grain of salt.

I’ll close with words my wife said to me tonight that sum up my feelings. This sucks.

Mondays. Gotta Love Them.

Published on January 19, 2010 in Family, Hospital, Japan, Layla's sick days and Parenting. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

I woke up today at 5am. I was in Shinjuku before any of the stores opened. The last time I was in Shinjuku that early, I was catching the first train home after being in Tokyo all night (not that I’d blog about it after the reactions I got from some mothers out there. You know who you are =) Why was I there at such an ungodly hour? So I could leave early to visit Layla in purgatory.

I got to the hospital around 17:30 to find that Layla had been shifted into another room. Instead of being one of three kids in a spacious room with a view of the nurse’s station she was crammed into a corner of an 8-cage room with no windows and barely any light. The 5x3ft crib that is her prison is about all the space we were afforded, plus a foot or two beside the bed to sit on a stool. Definitely a step or two below the Ritz.

As for Layla, I wish I could say her spirits were up. At least I can say her oxygen levels seemed to be. The poor kid seemed depressed and withdrawn, not wanting to do much of anything but be held and stare at the other coughing/crying/sleeping/etc babies she shared the room with. There were glimmers of the little kid at times, but more often than not she was pretty down in the dumps.

Every time a nurse walked into the room, the words “DOCTOR SCARY!” echoed through the halls of the hospital. I’m not much one for doctors or hospitals either, but to say Layla was hysterical upon seeing nurses would be an understatement. On the bright side, I know I don’t need to worry about having to pay her way through medical school – the psychological scars she’s getting from this experience all but guarantees that she won’t want to work anywhere near a hospital.

Unfortunately, despite my initial hopes that her oxygen levels were up, I heard some bad news. The doctor told us we should consider upping her daily medication because she isn’t responding well to the hospital treatment. That’s something we’re going to have to discuss and think about.

The other bad news, especially for Layla, was that the nurse wanted to switch her nostril tube for a full face mask covering her nose and mouth. After she settled down, she seemed perfectly okay with the new mask, but for the first 5 or 10 minutes she complained that she couldn’t get her finger up her nose.

By 20:00, the lights went down and all the kids were getting tucked into their beds to sleep. She didn’t want us to leave, but determination gave way to exhaustion and despite a death grip on my shirt, I eventually worked my way free.

1 down, 4 to go…

Longest Weekend Ever

Published on January 17, 2010 in Family, Hospital, Japan, Layla's sick days and Parenting. 0 Comments Tags: , .

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.

Another Short Week, Unfortunately…

Published on January 16, 2010 in Family and Layla's sick days. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Last Friday, Layla was sick. Sick as in the throwing up all over her dad when he’s carrying her because she doesn’t want to move kind of sick. It wasn’t pleasant, but luckily grandma was available to take care of her so we dropped her at her grandma’s and she stayed there with Tamie overnight.

Saturday, she seemed better and we did our shopping thing (Costco this time — saved a bunch of money by buying 20000yen in bulk products?!). At dinner, she opened her mouth and spit out a piece of vegetable she was eating… only to be followed by the rest of the dinner she’d eaten prior. Not missing a beat, though, the kid looked up, said she exploded, apologized and then asked for ice cream as we (and the restaurant waitresses) scrambled to clean up the hot mess.

The reason I bring this up? All week she’s been coughing like crazy – it sounds like we are living with some kind of seal barking through the night. Tamie seems to have caught whatever it is she has. So far, I’ve been lucky. But today, our luck ran out. She had a fever. Anything past 37.5 and the daycare won’t accept her. The poor kid’s was up at 38.6 when we checked this morning!

So, with grandma unavailable and Tamie taking the last turn in the game of who takes care of the sick baby, it fell on my broad shoulders to stay home with the coughing bundle of joy. And joy we had…

Actually, it wasn’t so bad in that Layla slept most of the day. The only thing was that she slept on me. I did try to lay her down once on her futon but not five minutes after I finally got her back asleep did her cough return and she woke up crying, running over and climbing up into my lap before falling back asleep. I’m not complaining – makes me feel like she actually needs me for something other than to carry her… kind of. It just makes it hard to actually accomplish anything other than watching the same 30 minute Thomas the Tank Engine DVD. Over and over. And over again.

We did go out for a little while to get some fresh air and some food, but despite her shopping instincts of buy everything, she didn’t want to actually eat anything. Luckily, with ice cream, I can convince her to do almost anything.

Eventually, she went to bed and I was able to write a blog entry.