Pneumonia, The Deadbeat Mom, and Her Awesome Husband

Ellen ended up in the hospital over the weekend due to pneumonia. Both Ethan and Ellen had been battling colds over the past few weeks and despite our best efforts, Ellen was just a mess. I was giving her breathing treatments along with her Vest and in-exsufflator every 3 hours. Nothing seemed to help. I thought maybe she had RSV so I finally took her in to see our pediatrician. I was not expecting to be whisked away in an ambulance. Ethan was with me and he thought it was a fun ride. I was a basket case. The ambulance took us to our local hospital to be transferred to CHOA in Atlanta.

Spencer left work, rushed home to get some things packed for me and Ellen and met us at the hospital. Ellen was screaming, Ethan was getting into everything,running down the halls, and swindling Cheetos and apple juice from the nurses. By the time Spencer arrived, I must have appeared to be very stressed out because Spencer sent me home with Ethan so he could ride up in the ambulance with screaming Ellen. Ethan and I would go up the following morning.

The next day a neighbor offered to watch Ethan for us. (Thank you Goodman family!). I drove up to meet Spencer. Later that afternoon, it hit me. I was sick. I felt awful! I think being in the hospital with a sick child probably magnified it a bit, but I was not managing very well. Thankfully Spencer took good care of me and Ellen. He let me rest while he tried to entertain Ellen, and he sent me downstairs to the hospitals sleep rooms all 3 nights. I know he has not had much sleep, because sleeping in a PICU room is not exactly a restful night.

Ellen is doing much better now (I am doing better too, and Spencer is sleeping...), and we hope she will be discharged today. At least all of this happened a week before we moved. This experience has just made me all the more thankful that we will be living closer to a children's hospital. Hopefully it will help us avoid some of the chaos.