Oh, no! Parts I and II.

[rivka]

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.

Comments

[fairoriana.livejournal.com]

Oh my. Yeah, what a tough time for Emily and Zoe! And I'm so sorry that Alex will be missing her friend. It is very hard to deal with a toddler not understanding why certain things have changed.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

Part I: Good Thoughts offered for Zoe, Emily, and everyone else affected. Poor little kidlet, and, as you say, poor mom as well.

Part II: Oh, dear. Poor Alex indeed. I hope that she's able to adapt. And good luck to you, too, in dealing with it.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

That's a whole lot of no good.

Not much to be done about Miss Carol, other than help Alex through the heartache she's sure to feel. If there's anything I can do to help with the logistics of you helping out with the Emily/Zoe situation, drop me a note and I'll do what I can.

Please give Emily my best when you talk to her.

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

Both of those suck mightily, on entirely different levels. Good thoughts for Emily and Zoe. I hope Alex's transition goes reasonably smoothly.

[faxpaladin.livejournal.com]

GoodThoughts for all...

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry! I hope Zoe makes a quick recovery and nobody else gets sick.

re: part II, when the local little girl had her nursery school teacher leave the school, it seemed to help the transition to invite the teacher over for dinner occasionally. It wasn't anything like the same as seeing her in school every day, but it kept her from feeling abandoned. I don't know if Miss Carol would be interested in something like that (or if she's moving to California, or if she's thoroughly tired of spending time with toddlers.) One needs to ask very gently to avoid a hint of pressure, and not suggest the idea to the toddler ahead of time...Kat had amazing powers of wishful thinking, and I'm sure Alex does too.

[dragon3.livejournal.com]

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.

It is also awful to be the distant one, even when the kid is no longer a toddler. I was thousands of kilometres away when my child had an emergency appendectomy on a school field trip. Zir mother was closer and could get there faster. It would have been a lot easier on me if I was on the scene.

So I can imagine quite vividly how awful it is to be on the road when your kid is sick.

I hope it all works out OK and that Alex's immune system just shrugs off any bugs that might have landed on her