An Unexpected Christmas

Generally when I think of Christmas I get all warm and fuzzy inside as I think about Christmas music, lights, snow, presents, pumpkin spice lattes and cranberry bliss bars, incense at midnight mass... Of course I want to give my children the chance to experience the merriment of the Christmas season.  And sometimes Christmas just doesn't go as planned.

Our house has been wracked by a variety of illnesses since Halloween.  I've joked that I have been awash in bodily fluids.  Linus has become adept at using a puke bucket if that is any indication and has one permanently stationed by his bed and another by his carseat.  Sickness, the weather, and a new baby have limited how much Christmas adventure we've had.  On Christmas Eve, Robin was working on day 11 of diarrhea and starting to show signs of dehydration.  He had gone to the doctor the day before and had some bloodwork done.  It's a bad sign when the nurse calls at 8:30 and tells you they want to redraw the blood immediately.  It's an even worse sign when you've only been back from the second blood draw for a few minutes when the doctor calls and tells you to take the baby to Children's Hospital.  Robin's blood showed elevated levels of potassium.  The doctor felt that it was a false positive, but wanted to be on the safe side.

It was my first trip to Children's.  The ER knew we were coming and we got to go right in to a room.  One of the problems with Robin is that he is such a good baby.  He is generally so happy and easy going that he doesn't let on as noticeably when he is sick.  Robin was very brave, but did not enjoy the pokes.

Very festive with his IV and Santa hat.

Blood tests showed that his potassium levels were fine.  Heel pricks are notorious for false positives. Unfortunately, his heart rate was 188 bpm.  It was felt that dehydration was the cause and Robin was given IV fluids.  The doctors and nurses felt like one bag should do it and we would be on our way.  Sadly, one bag did nothing to bring down his heart rate so we got to be admitted to the hospital. The staff was so amazing during the 6 hours we spent in the ER.  One nurse even did a Starbucks run for me (there is a 24 hour Starbucks inside the hospital next to the ER).  I was really impressed by everyone there.

My friend, Colleen, who has lots of experience taking kids to Children's, brought me an overnight bag and stayed with me for a few hours to keep me company, let me get some food, and showed me the ropes of staying there.  It felt a little weird spending my Christmas Eve at the hospital.  No special dinner, no kids in fancy Christmas clothes, no Christmas Eve mass, no final excitement before going to bed.

Doctors and nurses came throughout the night.  Robin strongly disliked his IV.   Again, the staff were amazing.  They constantly checked in to see if I needed anything and kept everything I needed on hand--breast pump? Check. Burp clothes? Check.  Vibrator thing to put in the crib to help him sleep (sometimes he really just wants his bouncy chair so this was very helpful)? Check.  Food? Water? Anything? Check.  It was a long night.

I really want to give Children's credit for making Christmas special for all the poor little kids who are stuck there.  In the morning, the nurse brought in a gift bag full of presents for Robin.  Later, Santa came to visit and brought him a panda bear.

We were in isolation so Santa had to wear gloves and a gown.

Throughout our stay, everyone talked about how cute Robin was.  In his Santa suit, he was the talk of the hospital. Seriously. While we were in the ER staff came by to view him.  Robin did his part by charming the pants off people with his cooing and infectious smile.  The doctor commented that Robin was the cutest baby he had seen in a while and that he sees a lot of babies.

Many hours of IV fluids did the trick.  Robin really started looking a lot better and his heart rate came down. Robin and I were both very excited to get the go ahead to check out of the hospital.  Exhausted we headed home.

The kids celebrated Christmas morning without us. The kids missed Robin.  They informed me that they missed him more than me.  They crowded around him as soon as we walked in the door.

Robin missed Linus.

The kids were excited to open my presents for me and empty my stocking. Santa brought me a cribbage set. I've always wanted to learn how to play.  Santa brought Dave a 3-D printer. Hmmm.

It made me sad to miss Christmas morning with my family, but Robin and I were where we needed to be.  Thankfully, Dave took pictures.

bad hair day

Leaving so abruptly Christmas Eve, Dave was left with the task of baking for my family's Christmas celebration.  He made an eggnog custard pie and a pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust.  He did great.  It's in moments of crisis that you can appreciate the person you married.  I left Dave to figure out meals (since all planned ones were now scrapped), bake, and play Santa (he didn't even know where I hid the presents).  The kids didn't care that they didn't get their fancy dinners or breakfasts.  They were just happy that Santa came and the only coal they got was actually chocolate.

Celebrating with my family was great and surprisingly relaxing.  Normally, I try to dress a little nice for such occasions.  Given the last 24 hours and with only about 2.5 hours between getting home and leaving for Tacoma, I went in sweatpants, slippers, and a greasy ponytail.  Nobody cared.  I drank mulled wine, played with my kids, listened to Christmas music, helped my mom in the kitchen, and thanked God that everything turned out okay.

It wasn't the Christmas that I planned and that's okay.  My Christmas gift was all the doctors and nurses who spent their Christmas at Children's hospital so that sick kids like Robin and their families could still have a merry Christmas.

**Editor's note** We are still not out of the woods completely with Robin.  He gets to see his regular doctor again tomorrow.  We will be watching him closely to make sure he doesn't get so dehydrated again.