No Good Deed Goes Unpunished, Part II

I got home from Fresno today, weak in the knees, having contracted another intestinal virus from Mr. B. during his stay at Children's Hospital Central California. After a 36 hour stint in the E.R., he was finally admitted Monday morning. He seemed to be perking up until Monday night when he and his Mommy suddenly started having gastric distress from both North and South Poles. Yikes! Of course, it was 2 dirty diapers later that the RN on duty told me to glove up when changing him. She told me that no matter how hard I scrubbed, I would miss something and boy howdy was she ever right.

They sent Mr. B. home Tuesday night sans his IV hep-lock, hoping all would be well, but it wasn't, so we ended up back at Kaiser in a treatment room while they juiced him up on IV fluids. It was very scary to watch him lying there so listless and not responding and when the lab work came back, his blood sugar was only 40! I don't know about kids, but an adult with that blood sugar would not be doing too well!! He began to perk up and ate pretzels, slugged Pedialyte and was sent home with the IV in place. This morning he was given the go-ahead and they removed the IV. He lost 5 pounds in a week and a half, but I predict that like when he had rotavirus, he'll eat like a longshoreman and beef up quickly.

On the other hand, for six lovely hours Wednesday afternoon and evening, I was, well, nevermind. I'm OK today, just weak and very tired, so we drove home and I slept in the car most of the way home and took a huge nap when we got here.

His diagnosis? Who knows? The EBV and CMV tests take a minimum of 4 working days, so those results may be in tomorrow. According to the charge nurse at Kaiser Peds, kids have been suffering badly from a wide variety of non-specific viruses this winter, but little flu. Go figure.

Anyway, my precious husband is treating me like Typhoid Mary as we are having a houseful this weekend for the Hearts of Sonoma Valley Barrel Tasting so I need to get well quick

Hopefully that will happen.

Benjamin, my darling, we must stop meeting like this........

Fresno Here I Come

Well, its back on the train and down to Fresno to visit with Mr. B. Sadly, it is not a happy visit as the little bugger is back at Children's Hospital with an unspecified virus that has him down and out. They are testing him for Epstein-Barr / mononucleosis and keeping him in the hospital as he is a bit dehydrated and not eating well. I tell you, hasn't this kid had enough? Not to mention his Mom and Dad!

I can't wait to get there and hug him, but I think I'll pass on the dental exams this time....

On the literature front, I just finished a book loaned to me by daughter Kate, entitled The Time Traveler's Wife by
Audrey Niffenegger. This book absolutely batted it out of the park for me...loved the love story, however improbable and I thought the writer did a fabulous job.

Also a good read, and tackling a very hot subject is My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. It was also a loan from Kate and I was really excited to read this book when I found out what it was about (parents having a child specifically to be a genetic/donor match for an exisiting child who was ill). I loved the story as it unfolded, showing how a family can go totally out of kilter when only one member becomes the focus of the parents' energies.

Finally, I'll be taking Freddy and Fredericka by Mark Helprin, a tale of a fictional Prince and Princess of Wales who are inept, spoiled and totally unprepared to take over the crown in the Queen's estimation. They are exciled to the "colonies" sans clothes and cash and forced to fend for themselves--the modern version of a quest. The author contrives the most hilarious names for his characters and this book has had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion, and I can't wait to see what happens to these clueless castaways next.

'Til I get back....