Late breaking story

We're coming to you live this morning from the local hospital... which incidentally is not as exciting as it sounds. Poor Amelia didn't get along with the latest virus that came calling. She stopped eating in favor of an all-day nap on Thursday. She'd only get up to move from the recliner to the couch or from the couch to the big pillow on the floor. She'd spend her few waking minutes staring vacantly into the middle distance. Friday afternoon she went to the doctor and got some antibiotics for a probable double ear infection. Saturday she decided to give up on drinking too, and when her breath started to smell like nail polish remover, we called her doc, who had us do some checks for dehydration and sent us packing for the ER, sometime around 4:30 yesterday afternoon.

They did a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia (negagtive) and ran some blood work. After what seemed like a very long time, they finally got an IV started. Then she thrashed at the last moment and knocked it out, so we had to do it again on the other side. She didn't even like the blood pressure cuff, the stethoscope, or the thermometer under her arm, so you can imagine how thrilled she was with three different needle sticks. It took three of us to make it happen.

After getting her lab work back and consulting with her pediatrician, they decided to admit her, so I stayed the night with her. She napped for a while once we got back to the room, and then woke up raring to go. As in, "go somewhere other than this godforsaken bed." It's tough when you can't explain to her the necessity of staying put.

Then one of the nurses came by and suggested we unplug the IV stand and take a walk.

Duh...

So we embarked on the inaugural Amelia 500, walking round and round the third floor - presumably looking for the exit. It was the most activity I've seen from her in about 72 hours. After half a dozen laps, it was time for a pit stop back at the room. She was much less upset having checked out her surroundings. They brought us a TV on a stand with a VCR and some decades old children's movies. She stared vaguely in the direction of The Land Before Time II for a while before finally going to sleep sometime after midnight.

And now we sit (well, I sit and Amelia sprawls), uncertain about whether we're going to get to go home later this morning or not. Daylight savings kicked in last night, which I'm choosing to look at as one hour less in the hospital rather than a lost hour of sleep. You lose hours of sleep in the hospital anyway, what with the narrow bed not really built for more than one person, the air mattress that reinflates and readjusts itself every time you move (or breathe too deeply), the occasional beeping machines or medical personnel appearing out of nowhere like ghosts in the night. (In an odd twist, our next-door-neighbor's mom works on this floor. It's always strange to see a familiar face in an unfamiliar context.)

At least they've got free wifi here, even if they do block half the sites on the internet. YouTube? Facebook? Really? Well, maybe it's to keep the staff from wasting too much time online or something. But trust me, even the tiniest opening can be used to waste time. You put me on a cruise ship with a balcony room I'll use it, but if you stick me in steerage with a tiny porthole, I'm still going to stare out it every chance I get...

I mean, let's be honest. I'm not telling this story because it's all that interesting. I'm just trying to pass the time by subjecting you to my boredom.

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