Observations From A Night In The ER

This week is thankfully coming to a close. The days have been filled with all sorts of stress, anxiety, and being “on” as a parent. It started with a middle of the night visit to the ER with my 20 month old who had a fever of 104 and her breathing was not right. It scared me.  My husband was out of town so my 4 year old came along with us. It is something that I am going to write about  another time when I have caught up on some sleep, taken moments to breathe deep again, and maybe have a glass of wine or two.

I am beyond thankful that my visit was something that could be controlled. Baby girl had croup and once the fever went down and the meds kicked in, she was cleared to go home. Some parents have to make these visits because of other issues that are more complicated. They are always in my thoughts.

For now, I present you with, the top observations I had while in the ER.

1. Nurses and doctors are AMAZING.  I am so appreciative for the ones we had. My little girl screamed her head off and has the strength of Supergirl. They were patient and caring. These people took the time to explain things to me and give me wait time to absorb it all.
2. If you are a mommy like me that is panicking and scared, don’t bother asking for Xanax. They will tell you no.
3. The same goes for beer or wine. At this point, they just laugh you off and tell you that all will be okay.
4. Stickers go a long way. I was especially excited that they had Snow White ones. This resulted in my 4 year old becoming upset with me for not sharing. Good distraction.
5. Thankfully, there was a TV in our little area that the doctor put on. We watched hours of Looney Tunes and The Flintstones. Coincidentally, when I started to sing the theme song was when the nurse came and said they were just going to keep our door closed.
6. No matter how much mommy panic sets in, you keep it together for your kids. For the most part anyway.
7. It’s also okay to cry and say you are scared. It is the ER.
8. My 4 year old has a sense of humor that kept me laughing even when I didn’t feel like it. They had to do a procedure on baby girl where we left the room. He distracted me and before I knew it we were back to her and she was much better! Grateful.
9. As soon as you tell kids not to press call button on the remote control, that’s all they want to do. I admit, I kind of wanted to as well. The kid in me and all of that…
10. The thought of the phone call that will eventually be made to hubby that will in return, bring presents, girls nights out, and anything else I want for somehow managing all of this. I know..I am the mommy but still, at least a girls night out!
11. When your older kid really has to go to the bathroom but you cant leave, the doctor stepped up to take him. I am sure he had lots of other things to attend to.
12. The fact that baby girl was okay and had so many dedicated people making sure of that. She even smiled and waved goodbye to everyone.

As much as this was quite the experience, I am hoping it will be a long time before we are visiting the ER again.

Have you had scary parental moments? Share in the comments section or on FB at 40 Wishes and Counting. Thank you so much for following 40 Wishes!