Oh, no! Parts I and II.

Part I: My friend Emily (who is the mother of Alex's friend Zoe) called at about 9:30 last night from the emergency room at Sinai Hospital, to let us know that Zoe was being admitted for viral pneumonia. She'd gotten sick over the weekend, and by the time they got in to see the pediatrician late yesterday afternoon, she was short of breath and her blood oxygen level had fallen. They went straight from the pediatrician's office to the ER. Zoe's being treated with oxygen, IV steroids, and antibiotics, and she'd already had three nebulizer treatments between 4:30 and 9:30. Emily was surprisingly calm. From the list of treatments, it sounds as though Zoe is very, very sick. Poor little girl. And poor Emily. I can vividly imagine how awful it must be to see your toddler going through something like this. And by yourself, too - her husband just flew out on a week-long business trip.

Michael's working late today, unfortunately. When he comes home, I'm going to head up to the hospital to give Emily a chance to go home and shower, and just generally take a break. When a toddler is in the hospital, the parent is pretty much on duty 24/7. I can't imagine leaving a two-year-old just in the care of nurses, unless there was genuinely no other way.

Poor Emily and Zoe.

Part II: When I dropped Alex off at nursery school this morning, her best-beloved head teacher told me that she's quitting. Friday will be her last day. Poor Alex is going to be devastated. She's bonded to Miss Carol so closely - she even asks me to tell her stories about her, and I can't sing the song "You Are My Sunshine" without being corrected: "I'm actually Miss Carol's sunshine, Mama."

Damn it. We picked this school in part because they have such low staff turnover rates. I am unhappy about this. Alex's other two teachers will be staying, but she only really seems bonded to one of them. It's always been about Miss Carol first and foremost, since her very first day.

Poor Alex.

(no subject)

If you were going to be spending several days in the hospital at the side of your sick toddler, what could someone bring you that would make things easier?

My friend Emily's husband decided to cancel his business trip, so she's at least going to have someone consistent to help, and give her breaks. But she's going to be the one spending nights at the hospital and so forth. Zoe's still very sick - they've given up on the idea that she'll be able to go home before Thursday or Friday at the earliest.

I'm going by to visit tonight. I'm planning to bring coloring books, crayons, and stickers for Zoe, and my electric kettle filled with herbal tea and cocoa packets for Emily. (I suspect that all they'll have on the unit is a coffee pot, and Emily is an observant Mormon.) I'm also going to bring by a light and frivolous novel.

Any other suggestions?

Hospital update.

Thanks, everyone, for the extremely useful suggestions. I wound up bringing two coloring books, crayons, and stickers for Zoe, which were as well-received as anything brought to an extremely sick two-year-old could possibly be.

For Emily, I packed into a sturdy and capacious canvas bag:

(1) Two of my paperbacks - one frivolous novel and one book of funny essays.
(2) A sudoku book, a small sturdy notebook, and two pens.
(3) My electric kettle, a ten-pack of instant cocoa, and eight herbal tea bags.
(4) Microwavable soup (not cup-o-MSG, something premium), nuts-and-fruit trail mix, single-serving cups of canned fruit, a half-dozen plastic spoons.
(5) Hand lotion.
(6) Wet wipes.

Emily had brought in bedding from home for both of them, and Zoe had her own pajamas. The room is outfitted with a DVD player and VCR, and apparently the children's floor has an enormous library of movies to borrow. There are also tons of toys in the playroom, which they are allowed to bring back to Zoe's room at will. So it was the right move to bring some consumables rather than, say, a new toy. And she doesn't need to borrow any of our movies.

Poor Zoe was soooo cranky and miserable. At one point, after the nurse had been in messing with her (requiring the removal and replacement of the nasal cannula, which seems to have been the biggest outrage), she just started beating on Emily in sheer frustration. She just didn't know what would make her feel better.

Honestly, I can't even imagine how I would get through something like that. Yikes.