I took this video of Caelan while he was in the hospital. Obviously he was feeling better!
I was a little slow on the take though... I think I missed ten and I stopped it before the blast off!!
Friday, January 31, 2014
Blast off!
I took this video of Caelan while he was in the hospital. Obviously he was feeling better!
I was a little slow on the take though... I think I missed ten and I stopped it before the blast off!!
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Conversations overheard
Ry: What's that french thing called? ... That thing where you put a person's head in it, then you pull a string, some giant ax thing drops and the person's head comes flying off?
Dad: A guillotine
Darcy: I thought it was a baguette, that's french too!
Dad: A guillotine
Darcy: I thought it was a baguette, that's french too!
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
QUACK!
Throughout this most recent CHEO visit, from our first step into the emergency room until we left, Caelan was full of ducks.
That's right. Ducks.
Every single time a doctor, resident, med student, respiratory therapist, nurse used a stethoscope to listen to Caelan's lungs, he quacked.
Sometimes the QUACK! was loud.
Other times, when you thought he might be sleeping, it was barely a whisper.
Sometimes the duck had cows visiting and you'd hear a moo too.
Sometimes he'd have the most serious straight face and you'd wonder if you actually heard it.
Other times he'd be grinning ear to ear or slapping a hand over his humongous smile to hide it.
Apparently word got around about the ducks in Calean's chest... Sometimes new doctors or nurses would come in and before listening would ask themselves aloud "wonder if I'm going to hear any ducks in here?" That usually got a big grin. Or they might have asked Caelan if there were still ducks in his chest, to which he'd respond with a QUACK!
I have no idea why he did any of this, but it made me smile every time.
It helped make the stay a little more bearable...
That's right. Ducks.
 |
| Source |
Every single time a doctor, resident, med student, respiratory therapist, nurse used a stethoscope to listen to Caelan's lungs, he quacked.
 |
| Source |
Sometimes the QUACK! was loud.
Other times, when you thought he might be sleeping, it was barely a whisper.
Sometimes the duck had cows visiting and you'd hear a moo too.
Sometimes he'd have the most serious straight face and you'd wonder if you actually heard it.
Other times he'd be grinning ear to ear or slapping a hand over his humongous smile to hide it.
 |
| Source |
Apparently word got around about the ducks in Calean's chest... Sometimes new doctors or nurses would come in and before listening would ask themselves aloud "wonder if I'm going to hear any ducks in here?" That usually got a big grin. Or they might have asked Caelan if there were still ducks in his chest, to which he'd respond with a QUACK!
 |
| Source |
I have no idea why he did any of this, but it made me smile every time.
It helped make the stay a little more bearable...
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
frustrating
I was so looking forward to a good nights sleep last night but it just wasn't meant to be...
In some ways it kind of made me happy, because it only reflected once again how long we've gone without a sleepover at CHEO.
Throughout this entire stay at CHEO, either Damian or myself were calling the nursing agency and cancelling our night shift nursing for that evening and when applicable the school nursing for the following day. Sometimes we'd cancel for the following day's night shift too. We really weren't sure how long his stay was going to be so never went much beyond that.
Regardless of when we called, we were always able to talk to a real live person.
It wasn't until just after ten o'clock last night that it occurred to me that perhaps we should have called to ensure we had a nurse for the night...
I did call then.
Again, I got to speak to a real person.
This time, however, they inform me that CCAC had placed a hold on the nursing shifts because Caelan was in hospital. They hadn't recevied a call advising that he had been discharged so there was no nurse scheduled for the night.
I forgot all about that.
(See? Kind of a happy thing, when you forget all these details about hospital stays. Kind of.)
How frustrating!
Even more frustrating is that we'd spoken to the nursing agency at least four times during this hospital stay. I repeat, each time speaking to a real live person. Never once did they say, "oh yes, I see there's been a hold placed on services while he's in hospital." Heck, even a cranky "ya, CCAC put a hold" would have been appreciated. It would have been enough to remind me of all the paperwork processes that impact every one of Caelan's hospital admissions/discharges.
All I'm saying is that a gentle reminder would have made a world of difference.
You can bet that first thing this morning I was making my phone calls.
Tonight we have nursing... and I'm really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed!
In some ways it kind of made me happy, because it only reflected once again how long we've gone without a sleepover at CHEO.
Throughout this entire stay at CHEO, either Damian or myself were calling the nursing agency and cancelling our night shift nursing for that evening and when applicable the school nursing for the following day. Sometimes we'd cancel for the following day's night shift too. We really weren't sure how long his stay was going to be so never went much beyond that.
Regardless of when we called, we were always able to talk to a real live person.
It wasn't until just after ten o'clock last night that it occurred to me that perhaps we should have called to ensure we had a nurse for the night...
I did call then.
Again, I got to speak to a real person.
This time, however, they inform me that CCAC had placed a hold on the nursing shifts because Caelan was in hospital. They hadn't recevied a call advising that he had been discharged so there was no nurse scheduled for the night.
I forgot all about that.
(See? Kind of a happy thing, when you forget all these details about hospital stays. Kind of.)
How frustrating!
Even more frustrating is that we'd spoken to the nursing agency at least four times during this hospital stay. I repeat, each time speaking to a real live person. Never once did they say, "oh yes, I see there's been a hold placed on services while he's in hospital." Heck, even a cranky "ya, CCAC put a hold" would have been appreciated. It would have been enough to remind me of all the paperwork processes that impact every one of Caelan's hospital admissions/discharges.
All I'm saying is that a gentle reminder would have made a world of difference.
You can bet that first thing this morning I was making my phone calls.
Tonight we have nursing... and I'm really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed!
Monday, January 27, 2014
back under one roof
Caelan was discharged from CHEO today.
An ENT med student came by this morning and returned around lunch time with Dr. B. Apparently they (ENT) agree there is a bit of a curve in the trachea visible in the x-ray that they don't see in previous x-rays. They checked back 5 years. The scope they did Friday didn't really clarify the situation either. About a month from now we'll do a follow up in clinic to discuss the probability of an bronchoscopy under sedation in the spring. It's possible that it was just his positioning during the x-ray so no need for concern yet.
At the same time, knowing that checking Caelan's ears and mouth are going to be part of the discharge assessment done by the floor, I asked Dr. B to check them. If I have to make Caelan go through that again, I'd rather have someone who knows exactly what they're doing check. Funny, Dr. B didn't mention anything about funny curved ear canals? Caelan's ears are not infected. There's no redness, but there is some fluid. Just something to keep an eye on. We'll mention it at the clinic appointment and if it's still there we can consider putting tubes in his ears during that bronchoscopy in the spring.
So... We're all home now. Ronan, Darcy and Ryland all have miserable colds. Probably all RSV. Really hoping that Ronan is strong enough to get through it without ending up at CHEO too! There were lots and lots of babies there having a hard time breathing through lots and lots of secretions. In Caelan's ward room there was a 15 month old, a 9 month old and an 11 month old, all with RSV!
Caelan is better. It's such a relief and so good to see. He's not 100% though. I'll be keeping him home from school tomorrow (against his wishes) to see how he copes with some activity since he's been lounging out in a hospital bed for 5 days. I think he's going to tire out pretty quickly... Hoping he'll surprise me!
An ENT med student came by this morning and returned around lunch time with Dr. B. Apparently they (ENT) agree there is a bit of a curve in the trachea visible in the x-ray that they don't see in previous x-rays. They checked back 5 years. The scope they did Friday didn't really clarify the situation either. About a month from now we'll do a follow up in clinic to discuss the probability of an bronchoscopy under sedation in the spring. It's possible that it was just his positioning during the x-ray so no need for concern yet.
At the same time, knowing that checking Caelan's ears and mouth are going to be part of the discharge assessment done by the floor, I asked Dr. B to check them. If I have to make Caelan go through that again, I'd rather have someone who knows exactly what they're doing check. Funny, Dr. B didn't mention anything about funny curved ear canals? Caelan's ears are not infected. There's no redness, but there is some fluid. Just something to keep an eye on. We'll mention it at the clinic appointment and if it's still there we can consider putting tubes in his ears during that bronchoscopy in the spring.
So... We're all home now. Ronan, Darcy and Ryland all have miserable colds. Probably all RSV. Really hoping that Ronan is strong enough to get through it without ending up at CHEO too! There were lots and lots of babies there having a hard time breathing through lots and lots of secretions. In Caelan's ward room there was a 15 month old, a 9 month old and an 11 month old, all with RSV!
Caelan is better. It's such a relief and so good to see. He's not 100% though. I'll be keeping him home from school tomorrow (against his wishes) to see how he copes with some activity since he's been lounging out in a hospital bed for 5 days. I think he's going to tire out pretty quickly... Hoping he'll surprise me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)