Hospital Kicks

As I predicted, Maddie is still residing in room 5446. Luckily, her fever is gone - Tylenol is a miracle drug. Her Pediatrician (loooove) visited on rounds this morning and Maddie's morning x-ray showed that her collapsed lung still hasn't improved. The Pediatrician and the residents that follow her like ducklings (albeit very smart, adorable ducklings) decided to consult with the Pulmonologist. Their great meeting of the minds determined that Maddie needs to get Chest PT every two hours. The Internets tell me that the PT stands for Physiotherapy, but it might as well stand for Pound Thump. The nurses gave us a little plastic thing that is firm but has some give, and we have to beat on her chest and back with it...more cystic fibrosis treatments. Just to clear it up (because a resident asked me AGAIN today if she'd been tested), Maddie does NOT have cystic fibrosis. She's been tested twice for it, and I'm pretty sure that two negative tests mean she's in the clear.

Tomorrow Maddie will get another x-ray, and if her lung still shows no improvement, things will get interesting. Most likely, she will be scheduled for a bronchoscopy. A bronchoscopy is a procedure where a physician examines Maddie's respiratory system through a small, flexible tube that is passed through her nose. The flexible tube carries a fiber-optic system that attaches to a video camera and light source. The image from the open end is transmitted through the fiber-optic system to a video camera. Her Pediatrician told us that if they come across mucus plugs blocking her tiny airways, the bronchoscope would help dislodge them. Sounds like it would be a great procedure, but of course it makes us nervous. She'd have to be sedated for it. It can't be done in the Santa Monica hospital, so she'd have to be transferred to Westwood. Although, I don't know if it is something that would be done right away, or if it would be scheduled down the road. I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

When it became obvious that I'd be spending more time on the worst fold out bed in the world, I decided to go buy a foam memory pad. I went to Target. Oh, how I love Target. My old roomies Jackie and Bella and I used to have Target Sundays, where we would spend entire afternoons in the store, drinking slurpees and buying track pants and mascara. A new Target opened a few miles from my office and I could spend hours walking every inch of the three (THREE!) glorious stories it's comprised of. But oh, how I hate that you walk in to Target with the intention of spending $10.84 and walk out having spent $274.51!! Like we are made of money or something. First I saw a bumbo on sale. Then I saw a huge vat of the formula Maddie uses. Then they had packages of baby wipes for only $1.99! I grabbed four. I saw a couple pairs of shoes I could wear to work, a dress, some pants, a computer mouse, some lady products, leg warmers for Maddie, treats for Rigby, and OH YEAH the foam mattress pads! Since those were only $9.99 each I bought two! I need professional intervention.

Maddie's latest thing, which started BH (Before Hospitalization) is kicking off her blankets. At home, we swaddle her (although she is just about at her age limit for that) or put her in a sleep sack. The first time she tried to kick off her sleep sack and realized she couldn't, she got soooo pissed. She was crying but I refused to give in - victory! Our house is too cool for her to sleep without a blanket. Here in the hospital, we can't swaddle or sack her because of the probes and exams she gets throughout the day and night. The hospital is drafty and I worry about her getting cold since I freeze half the night (seriously, don't you want to stay here at the UCLA hotel? The beds, the drafts, oh my!), so when I was at Target I bought her leg warmers. They are exactly what I was looking for and they do the trick - she kicks and kicks and they don't come off. Victory!