Friday, February 16, 2007

I Now Know What A Children's Hospital Emergency Room...

...Looks like at 3:30 in the morning... Funnily enough, pretty empty.

Willow has croup. She woke us up a little after midnight with sounds that sort of sounded like coughing/choking. I won't get into the body fluids part of it all, but suffice to say there were some. She couldn't breathe back in after coughing and was getting frantic so we whisked her down to A. I. DuPont Children's Hospital, which incidentally is the closest hospital to us anyway. She had a fever and the triage nurse diagnosed her right away as having croup. They gave her some tylenol and pedialyte popsicles, and we had to wait until nearly 4am to see one of the doctors. I understand the point of triage and children more sick and/or injured than Willow were coming in... but we were bloody exhausted by the time we got out of there. The doctor gave her a steroid dose and sent us home with instructions on how to deal with croup. It's interesting - if she is having a coughing episode, they said the best immediate thing to do is change her environment - either take outside into the cold air or put her in a steamy shower. So, we are dealing on less than 4 hours of sleep today - that kid better damn well go down for a nap.

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I am going to conduct an experiment. I have been a little disappointed in the number of comments of late - thank you so much for those of you who leave comments - I must say I wonder sometimes what compels people to comment. I know I don't have (and am not attempting to recruit) some of the numbers that other more popular blogs have, but it's bewildering sometimes. I will write something I feel comment-worthy and no one leaves a comment - and then I write something fleeting and flippant and ten people feel the need to say something. I put in a site meter a few weeks back (you can click on the link on the lower right side of this page) and I was really surprised at the numbers of people who read my blog and where they come from. On the flip side, I know even though there are about 50 blogs that I track and read, there are only about 10 that I comment on regularly. So, what I propose to do is surf a bit more (yeah, my husband is going to love that) and leave comments on at least five people's blogs everday. Let me clarify - five people who I have never commented on before. Maybe I will find some fun new blogs to read... and maybe a new reader or two of my own.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Saw your comment on Half Soled Boots and flipped over here. Must have been a scary experience -- croup is awful. My son had it once when he was younger -- stood outside in the cold night air and it really helped!

tara said...

How scary. I hope she gets better soon. Thanks for the tips too.
Hey Vancouver Island! Jo and I both lived there.

SuzannaBanana said...

Feel better soon, Willow!

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The comment thing's funny. I have those same thoughts when my comments drop off. I am horrible about leaving comments on other blogs. I like your plan, and I'm curious to see how it works out.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear that.
But I am glad Willow is ok now.

I remember when I was taken to ER at midnight, I had to wait for medication for 4 hours!
Waiting for a doctor at a hostipal is terrible, isn't it?

Zonda said...

Glad Willow is better! That is scary and it is a pain to wait to be seen too!

As for the blogs, that sounds like a great idea! I've done it. Although big bloggers like yarnharlot and Wendy knits, they have already like 100 or so comments, so I usually don't comment, but read them!

Jo said...

Zonda - I do the same thing with large blogs as well... but interestingly enough, every time I have left a comment on the Yarn Harlot's blog she has replied to my comment.

Thank you to everyone for Willow's well-wishes. The cool mist humidifier is doing wonders for her.

Laura said...

Hi Jo! Thanks for your comment on my blog. Boy, croup is scary; glad your little girl is getting better.

I was reading through your recent posts & saw that you were looking for good dishcloth patterns. I agree with one of the commenters that the pattern in Mason-Dixon Knitting is very nice. Here's another fun one that looks especially good with variegated cotton: Dave's Garterlac Dishcloth.

turtlegirl76 said...

Oh no! Poor Willow! I hope she feels better soon!

Anonymous said...

I remember taking you to the ER at Surrey Memorial Hospital with croup when you were about 1 year old.....not a good memory - I don't think I've ever been that scared since

amylin said...

Croup is awful. Good she's better.

I'm hopeless when it comes to comment, 'cause I kind of feel like an intruder and shouldn't comment anything. But here I am leaving a comment. You have a nice blog.

Woman who knits said...

I'm glad she's feeling better!!

As far as blogs. I read A LOT and comment on most. However, I choose to comment at bad times (ie. My 2.5 year old is trying to color the cat), I get up and totally forget to comment!!

I have a lot of people hit my blog, but the same people comment.

Anonymous said...

Oh Jo,
I am sorry to hear Willow is not well. My experience with Children's Emergency Wards is having a little two year old being wheeled in on a stretcher by ambulance attendants attached to an oxygen tank, hollering and then of course the lengthy wait....It is not a cheerful experience... I hope Willow is feeling better soon... Not being able to breathe is terrifying...
I will leave a comment but more like a question... How come when I look at your site meter, how come N.Vancouver doesn't come up as someone who has read your blog recently?

Jo said...

Lisa - I'm not sure why your location doesn't come up. I have noticed it isn't exact - when my parents come to the blog, it says "Brentwood Bay", which, while on the island, isn't where they live.

Amylin - so you are the German :) It's nice to meet you!

Laura - Thanks for the link to the washcloth pattern! It's nice to meet you, too :)

Woman Who Knits - But you see, the 2.5 year old was being creative and we mustn't stifle that ;)

Thank you for all the comments!

Anonymous said...

I remember the looooong night I spent in ER with my daughter who had croup. That was hideous. After they gave her some sort of breathing treatment, we had to wait for 3 hours to make sure all was okay. Fortunately, they had a rocking chair, and I held her and rocked her that whole time. Get better, Willow!

Jae said...

I do hope that Willow is feeling better. Not being able to breathe well is incredibly scary.

As for the comments, I'm interested in how it works. I've noticed that when I've ended with a question or my post title is a question, I get more comments. I think people need prompting sometimes. Otherwise they just read your story and move on - silently.

Shan said...

Hey, Vancouver Island - my home too!

As an enormously passionate Buffy fan I can't tell you how much I love your daughter's name (or her web-name, whatever the case may be).

Re: wishing for more blog comments - I think we're all in the same boat. On the other hand, I always feel sorry for the Harlot, Eunny, and others, who have to wade through hundreds of "I'm First!" or "me too!" comments. Better none than those.

Anonymous said...

I think I may have been one of the "new" blogs you found in your surfing and I appreciate the comment. I also frequently wonder what makes something "comment worthy".

Hope Willow is feeling better. My two went through that when they were little too. It is so hard on everyone.