vacation (Uh Yi Yi!) v. long....

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Registered: 06-25-2003
vacation (Uh Yi Yi!) v. long....
9
Sat, 08-27-2005 - 9:37pm

If I don't laugh, I might cry....

Well, I'm glad we scaled down our vacation plans after I lost my job. Instead of going to Disney for 10 days, we decided to drive to South Jersey and hang out on the shore for 5 days, keeping within spitting distance of Six Flags -to keep our theme park options open.

So Monday afternoon we set off with no incident. Got the dog and cat all squared away with their respective "minders", packed every concievable thing we could (one advantage of not flying), missed major traffic, and because DH navigated; got lost a total of 0 times (therefore no meltdowns!).

Peter had some anxiety over staying in a hotel ("but where is HOME?"), but we had booked a suite with some catering facilities, and when he saw that we had a little "home", he relaxed. ...a little too much.

At 8pm, he fell off a chair upon which he had been climbing. He landed on his head. I knew something was wrong immdiately, but there was nothing concrete, other than mommy instinct, so I set about the usual care for this kind of thing: Ice, tylenol, love and observation.

At 11 pm he came out of bed, complaining of nausea. DH took care of him, while I went to the front desk to get directions to the ER.

Of course I got lost. We got there 40 mins before the peds ER was due to close. They sent us packing, with a recommendation of ice, tylenol, love and observation, but because we were not local, and I kept insisting that *something* was not right, they asked for us to come back at 10am the next day, -or sooner if he became unresponsive, dizzy or confused (O.K. How does one gauge "confusion" in a child for whom the state is constant and perpetual? Call if he becomes lucid? Wait until he starts to gibber? ...I digress.)

So the next morning Peter's head hurts and he refuses to eat or drink anything. I pack him into the car and take him back to the ER. En route, he starts to vomit. We get fasttracked for a CT scan.

Unfortunately; Peter had undergone a rather nasty x-ray procedure the preceeding Thursday. They had needed to check his bladder function, and in order to do that he needed dyed fluid in his bladder. This fluid is not ingested... (I'll say no more). So here we are on the following Tuesday, in yet another hospital, and they mention taking photographs of his brain. I can only imagine how he thought they were going to accomplish *that*! Naturally the boy went into full scale fight/flee mode. He went after the tech, (he aims to miss in these situations, but she didn't know that). I managed to restrain him, and then I was told that they were going to sedate him for the scan. They asked if he would need to be restrained to put in an IV line, and I said that it could go eiher way, but given the circumstances, restraint would likely be needed. The hooked him up to the heart/resps monitor. He didn't like that much, but tolerated it. They left us alone for a little while, and I spoke to him and massaged his feet. He seemed to calm down a lot, but his heart rate shot up at any mention of brain photographs (these heart monitor machines are quite interesting...).

I had to laugh at the guy they sent to restrain my 4,0" 44lb boy. He was a young guy, not overly tall, but BUILT like a brick outhouse. There were a couple of nurses for good measure, -and me. Well, it turns out; this team were so nice and professional, and I guess Peter was somewhat spent, that he was prety meek while they put a line in his arm and took blood. They decided to try the CT scan without sedation. Peter held Brick Outhouse's hand and went into the CT room. They allowed me to stay with him until the very last minute, and Brick Outhouse, who by now I knew as Sean, got leaded up and offered to stay with Peter. Sean talked Peter through the whole procedure and the boy was good as gold.

Turns out; Sean's mother teaches Autistic kids. I guess someone was looking out for us!

AND The scan was normal. HURRAY!!!

Peter felt grotty for the rest of that day, but started to perk up around bedtime (a full 24 hrs later). He didn't regain his appetite until yesterday afternoon.

Of course, we were under strict instructions to keep Peter quiet for the next few days. No 'Great Adventure' for us! So the vacation wasn't quite as we planned it, but we went to the ocean, and they played in the waves. DH and I went antiquing (unexpected pleasure). We shopped quite a bit. We did get to the Safari park, and on the last day, the water park.

We got back today, and the kids are happy to be in their own beds. -That's one nice thing about Auties/Aspies. Any other kid would be sad and complaining, but they are delighted to be home.

So am I.

So that was the short version of our vacation story. Congratulations if you got this far. Can you tell I'm Irish?

!

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2004
Sat, 08-27-2005 - 10:36pm

Paula,

ROFL!!!!! I'm sorry, I'm still laughing!!! Poor Peter. I'm glad he's ok. "brain photographs".....you're hysterical!! Nathan would've panicked too!!! "call if he becomes lucid?"....ROFL!!! I think I would've fell to the floor laughing hysterically!!! "Have you met my child yet?????"

I'm glad that the brick outhouse...I mean Sean...was able to keep Peter calm. Glad you're all back safe and sound!! What a trip!

Michelle

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 08-27-2005 - 11:10pm

OH My Paula! What an (for lack of better word) adventure. Poor Peter, poor mom, dad and Siobhan. (hey her vaca got kind of interupted too). Your right if you don't laugh you will cry. I was crying there with you. I can vision it. Been there with Mike at that age and it isn't pretty, lol.

Big Monster Huge Kudo's to Peter for taking it in stride and being a good boy during the scan. Especially after the last bit of "testing". Good Boy Peter! You are the man!

Hope you have a better week next week.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Sun, 08-28-2005 - 12:07pm

Michelle,

Yes, it was all a bit bizarre. Regular people just don't know what to make of us! In the end, Peter's meltdown was a good thing, It was the reason we were sent to the ER proper and the "A" team (i.e. Sean & Co). There was a definite difference in quality of care between that lot and the "B" team.

(and if you thought that story was funny, you should hear the one about my Da's funeral. That always has them rolling in the aisles! I guess I have a bit of a talent for the black humor...)

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 08-28-2005 - 12:39pm

paula,

oh boy, what a story!! i often wonder if we will ever be able to go on any type of vacation. that hospital part would have been the final straw for me. i don't do good when i'm worried the boys are ill, especially matthew.

valerie

~Valerie
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sun, 08-28-2005 - 12:55pm

Paula I'm glad everything turned out to be alright, but what a nightmare. I enjoyed reading your story you put a funny spin on a not so great situation!

Amanda

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Sun, 08-28-2005 - 1:24pm

Val,

It took us quite a long time to persuade Peter that a vacation would be a good thing. He refused to go for the longest time. What other kid stamps his feet and shouts "No Disney World! No. Disney. WORLD!" LOL. He tried to get out of it numerous times. He even offered to stay home alone and take care of the animals! We prepared him studiously and made comparisons to things he liked, to get him used to the idea. As I mentioned the hardest thing for him was figuring out where "home" was. Once he was confident in his space, bed etc. he was OK.

I KWYM about the medical stuff. Renee once made the comment to me (paraphrasing): "I can handle any kind of special needs, but medical problems: Forget it" I have to agree. There is so much machinery, smells, poking and prodding involved. I am lucky that that was only ER visit #3 and #4 in seven years of motherhood -five with two kids. I am one of those people who is pretty good in a crisis. I can keep my head and actually think really clearly. It's afterwards that I fall apart...

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 08-28-2005 - 1:34pm

IKWYM, i use to work on an ambulance where i would start IV"S, intubate people, do CPR, deal with blood and vomit--even delivered a baby once. but when it comes to my kids, i fall to pieces when they don't feel good. i know what i need to do for them, if i could only figure out what the problem is!! my poor mom has to listen to me crying everytime my kids get sick.

valerie

~Valerie
Avatar for betz67
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 08-29-2005 - 7:55am

ROFLOL! about the brick outhouse! and way to go for him, what a wonderful Godsend!

I'm so glad Peter is ok! what an awful start to the vacation!

Betsy

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-24-2003
Mon, 08-29-2005 - 9:10am
Sorry you had such a rough vacation but I'm glad Peter is okay.

Pat

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. --