Monday, September 01, 2008

Beat

I am exhausted and writing this on very little sleep so you'll have to excuse me if it's a lacking in my usual coherence and wit. Or whatever.

Last night Joseph was breathing kind of funny. He was just laying on the couch and panting. He told us he couldn't take a deep breath. He's had a little bit of a cold so I figured it had something to do with that but I asked Jesse to run him in to the ER just to be on the safe side. I thought maybe they would give him a nebulizer treatment and then send him home.

Yeah, not so much. Turns out the poor little guy has pneumonia and his left lung wasn't really functioning at all. My parents came over to watch Elle and I drove to the hospital while Joseph was getting admitted to the pediatric ICU.

You know, I know that he was ok and in good hands but when I walked into that room and saw him laying on that big bed looking so sick and so fragile my heart just about stopped.

The good news is that Joseph is doing a ton better right now. He's been moved to the regular pediatric unit and is feeling really good. He has spent all day saying things like "I love this place!" and "They treat me like a king here!" and "This place is like heaven to me!" and "Why don't you have a tv and x-box on a cart at home so that you can wheel into my room for me?"

The bad news is that he'll have to stay for at least one more night. He can't go home until he's been off oxygen for 24 hours and right now he's still on it. That means he'll miss the first day of school (tomorrow) and then some. And that works out perfectly! You know, what with us pulling him out of school next week anyway so that we can go on vacation.

Oh well. The important thing is that my boy is ok. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he gets to come home tomorrow. For now though my mom and Jesse are each going to spend a couple of hours with Joseph so that I can get a little sleep before heading back for the night.

Last night I twittered that Joseph was going to the ER and I got so many kind and thoughtful responses. Thank you to each and everyone of you who twittered back. Your kind words meant the world to me. Twitter, healing the world in 140 characters or less.

9 comments:

Diana said...

I'm so glad to hear he's going to be OK! Get some rest, you deserve it. And when you go back, give him all of that twitter healing love to get better. :)

Jill said...

So glad that he's OK! I know what it's like to see your baby hooked up to all those tubes and machiens at the hospital. Heart wrenching! I love that he's got such a great attitude about it all, though! Wonder how many times he'll ask for that caret once he gets home :-)

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear that your boy is on the road to recovery. I can't even imagine where I'd find the strength to stand let alone function, if my boy was all plugged in. Get some well deserved rest. Best to you and the entire family.

Anonymous said...

Poor little guy! I hope he gets better really soon...

Cathy said...

From the sounds of it - he's happy to be staying another night??!
Glad to hear he's getting better!

Unknown said...

Best wishes for his speedy recovery.

The Gray Gang said...

:( It is so sad when kiddies are sick! I hope the healthy bug comes quick!!!!

Alison Wonderland said...

I read the next one first so I won't say I'm worried but I am so glad that it all worked out ok.

Manager Mom said...

Jen- I am catching up from most recent to this one, and just wanted you to know how sorry I am you both have to go through this and thank God he is improving. Thoughts and prayers your way...