Saturday, June 27, 2009

A special car ride


Leila was very unwell this week. A fever overnight turned into a quiet Thursday, little activity, lots of dvds. That turned into violent vomitting, more temperatures, sore back and neck, then a meningal like rash on her face and neck. This resulted in a mad dash to the GP, a shot of pencillin there, leaving with a referral in hand for the emergency room with us having instructions about blood tests and "better to be safe than sorry". That led to a rather scarey experience at our local public emergency room. The waiting room was like something out of ER - an old man on a gurney just lying in the waiting room, another old lady with a flu mask sitting in a corner in a wheelchair, a guy with a bloodied leg and a lot of dissatisfaction in the air. We both looked at each other and decided "uh uh" and left. We came home and called an ambulance. Our GP once said that if in doubt and really concerned, call an ambulance and you'll get care straight away.
We've only had one other experience with Ella when she was only 1 - much scarier in a lot of respects. We woke to Ella straining to breathe, crying with the strain of it. The paramedics and the paedeatric unit arrived within minutes, lights blaring. She had an acute case of croup, so off we went, as we did on Thursday night, to the Childrens. In both cases amazing ambos and great care at the Childrens. Benny bear, the subject photo of this post, was a distraction from Ben, our paramedic.
Leila's fine, they observed her for a few hours, then sent us home. Friday she was fine, you wouldn't know she'd been so unwell. Monkeys these babes, but a healthy monkey is far better than any other kind.

10 comments:

bec said...

Glad she's ok. I love seeing those bears, my Grandma knits them in her craft group in her retirement village, prob not this specific one, but you know what I mean. handmade with love!!

Bek said...

How terrifying. I have never had to take the kids to hospital ... yet. I'm so glad that everyone is OK.

Teddy is quite cool too. Jemima got a pastelly one when we visited my granny in hospital once...by a nurse who had been a bit nasty trying to make amends.

Belinda said...

So glad she is okay now - we had an ambulance ride last week as well, and funnily enough also got a knitted teddy from the ambulance officer. Will have to take a pic.

cheers, Belinda.

Kiki said...

Holy moley, that would have been scary for all of you. I'm so glad to read there was such a happy outcome, children bounce back so quickly don't they, from so many things. I often think I should learn from them ;-)
Resilience!

Sarah T said...

I am happy to hear that Leila is all better. It just rips your heart out when that happens. I know that you mean about the local ED, that is just as scary...I think, especially at night.
Here's to healthy kids over the holidays.

Tamara said...

Oh they can give you a fright can't they! Hope she is well and truly on the mend by now and you can enjoy your holidays

Feronia said...

So glad Leila is feeling better. Scary for you!

dearmolly said...

the whole thought of getting emergency care for my little ones terrifies me, and to hear you had actually been in an ER and then decided your best course of action was to leave gives me little confidence in our public health system. I totally agree with you calling an ambulance and am so relieved to hear Leila is ok.

I hope there's not, but if there is a next time, private ER's and kids are a good mix. We head off to Cabrini in Malvern, Epworth in Richmond is great (and you can call them first for a chat and let them know you're coming) not sure about Epworth Box Hill, could be worth investigating...

Love the bear! Granny love turns up when you least expect it!

Lx

Sandy said...

I am so sorry you, your family, and especially Leila had to go through all that. I remember my mom leaving in an ambulance when I was only 2-years-old. It was probably my first beginning memory of my childhood, very traumatic. Wishing you all the best, especially little Leila. I'm glad she's doing better.

PlumStitches said...

That sounds so scary, I'm glad she's feeling better!