All of the kids except Emma were sick the week of Christmas. One week later, I thought we had made it--she had made it--and we were safe. Oh man, were we wrong.
The day before New Year's Eve, she suddenly got sick. Like literally out of now where. But it was different than the other kids, who had high fevers and respiratory issues. She was throwing up like a madman--at least 20 times over the next 24 hours. The next morning she looked terrible. She was clearly very dehydrated--sunken eyes and dry mouth were the two most noticeable signs. I called her doctor, and they suggested we take her to the ER, where she could get IV fluids.
Once again, we were on the road the to the children's hospital in Buffalo, but this time I was hoping we wouldn't have to stay longer than a few hours. When the admitting nurse saw her, she told the other nurses to get the IV started immediately--she was looking even worse. After two bags of fluid, blood tests, and an x-ray, they decided to keep her overnight---she just wasn't responding how they wanted her to.
We ended up staying two nights and several days--her little tiny body had just such a hard time catching up from all the fluid loss from that first day. The whole floor was filled with kids in the same boat---it's a wicked bug that has swept through many states, and hit this area pretty hard.
One major bright spot was being serenaded a guy from The University of Buffalo. He was with a program through The Center of the Arts, and they sponsor musicians to come into the hospital and perform for the patients in their rooms. He played his guitar and sang, and even brought instruments for us. We played the tambourine, sticks, egg shaker, bells, and more. We heard The Beatles, Bob Marley, Christmas songs, and so many other fun songs. What a treat! We were so lucky!
One major bright spot was being serenaded a guy from The University of Buffalo. He was with a program through The Center of the Arts, and they sponsor musicians to come into the hospital and perform for the patients in their rooms. He played his guitar and sang, and even brought instruments for us. We played the tambourine, sticks, egg shaker, bells, and more. We heard The Beatles, Bob Marley, Christmas songs, and so many other fun songs. What a treat! We were so lucky!
Even though it's never fun to be in the hospital, and it's definitely not the holiday break we would have wanted or planned, it was wonderful to have so much one-on-one time with Emma. We spent New Year's Eve together, looking out over the Buffalo skyline (perfect view of the fireworks), then the next couple of days watching movies, and talking. The timing was also good---she was out of school, and Rick was off of work, so he could be home with the kids. It's those small blessings that make such a difference, and I'm so grateful for them.
It was also so sweet to see how much her siblings missed her. They sent her the pajamas that they were all wearing one night to bed, so that she could match the too. Kate sent her her favorite books from Christmas, and they packed her her favorite stuffies.
We finally made it home last night, and we were all SO happy about it!
