Recovery

GOOD news! Allie is home. Really, it is great news. She has really been through a lot over the last week. I’ll leave out some of the details, and yes, all that is important is that we are all home safe and healthy. But I will say that as a RN, I was disgusted with the medical care she received. We were in an isolation room with 2 other babies and no bathroom for the moms. If we wanted to wash up or use the restroom, we had to walk down the hall through double doors that locked so we would have to be buzzed back into the unit. That meant either buzzing a nurse to come stand by Allie’s crib while I ran, or leave her alone which I never would do.

I’m sorry to tell my fellow NY’ers, but this is a NY thing. Yes it is. No, really. It shouldn’t be acceptable, and in other parts of our country it is not like that.
Her IV infiltrated and luckily we caught it in time before it caused permanent damage. Her apnea monitor went off one night showing her heart rate had dropped and her respirations and I had to argue with the senior resident and demand to get an attending to do an assessment on her. I had to share a breastpump with another mom that was not in our isolation room. A respiratory therapist scared the crap out of me, I had to put up a fight just to get her a dose of Tylenol, and I ended up doing a lot of suctioning myself on her and chest PT. All that matters though, is that we are safe and healthy and HOME.

Allie was really a trooper and with other babies in the room, it was always loud. And as for Jack, he was a trooper at home. Very confused what was going on and pretty upset that he couldn’t visit the hospital, but he is still on antibiotic for a double ear infection, and still getting breathing treatments because of his wheezing and cough from RSV.

All in all, I’m quite certain this past week took a few years off my life. A big thanks to Grandma who helped while we were at the hospital and inadvertently gave me my only laugh for the whole week after a long and tiring night.