We arrived at Children's at 9pm at which point we were taken into the Pediatric ICU. By this time Norah's welts and rashes were starting to go down thanks to two doses of Benadryl, though she still looked as though she had a horrible sunburn. The doctors and nurses immediately went to work trying to get her situated and assess her condition. They were lighthearted with me but were obviously very intent on doing their job.
I was sent to the concierge who explained how the ICU worked, as well as parking and meals. I don't remember any of it in any detail. When I returned to her room the doctors and nurses kept asking me the same questions that everyone else had already asked so I was able to answer them without really thinking about it.
Jeff arrived at about 9:15 and was surprised to learn that we had arrived only a few minutes before him. I went to get changed (was still in a dress and heals from church and work) and returned to the room to learn that they decided to wake her up as she was breathing without any help at this point. Her tube was removed and we set about trying to wake her up. It took some time, but she finally opened her beautiful eyes, and tried to reach for Jeff. He gladly climbed up into bed with her and we sat together as a family relieved and beyond thankful to see recognition in her eyes.
We started asking her questions at the prompting of the nurses, all the while aware that she wasn't fully conscious and that she had been through a prolonged seizure and been given A LOT of medication. As the minutes ticked by she began to become more and more alert and cuddled with her daddy. It was decided that I would go and get a bite to eat (it was about 10:30pm) then come back to the room.
At the cafeteria I spent way too much time trying to decide what to get, feeling as though any decision making ability I had before this all began had been completely erased. I ate while I walked back to the room. Norah was sitting up in bed, getting her hair washed and talking in a funny, high pitched, squeaky voice (it sounded crazy from the intubation and effects of sedation).
At 11pm Jeff left to get home and relieve Patrick while I stayed with Norah. The nurses and doctors were certain that between the seizure and all the medications Norah would sleep like a rock. Instead, she was up ALL night long. At about 1 AM I pointed out to the nurses that she was saying some funny things. She was seeing a lady feeding fish, spiders, ladders, and a puppy dog in my hair. Fortunately they believed me when I told them that she doesn't play like that and it was determined that she was indeed hallucinating.
Any doubt of that was erased when, at one point while cuddling with her on the bed, she thought my gloved hand (that was rubbing her tummy) was going to eat her and started screaming. Within seconds we had the entire floor of nurses in the room, and we decided that from then on we weren't going to worry about gloves, and I wasn't going to worry about my mask either.
It was an exhausting night that passed by in a blur. Norah could not get comfortable, and was distracted by the IV lines in both her arms. She kept messing with them, and when we tried to stop her from pulling them out, she became distracted by the line that hooked her up to the vitals monitor. Even when it was retaped to her big toe, the red light on it showed through the blankets and she was certain it was trying to get her. The nurses tried everything from giving her a beany baby puppy (that Norah named Scruffy), to a sweet lady bug blanket, and more. But no bribe was big enough to counter all the medications running through her. At 6:30AM I finally gave up, folded all my blankets and put them aside. We played and had a tea party, then at 9AM I was able to let her eat some real food. She picked a cheese pizza for breakfast and ate the majority of it before falling sound asleep at 9:30AM.
I was sent to the concierge who explained how the ICU worked, as well as parking and meals. I don't remember any of it in any detail. When I returned to her room the doctors and nurses kept asking me the same questions that everyone else had already asked so I was able to answer them without really thinking about it.
Jeff arrived at about 9:15 and was surprised to learn that we had arrived only a few minutes before him. I went to get changed (was still in a dress and heals from church and work) and returned to the room to learn that they decided to wake her up as she was breathing without any help at this point. Her tube was removed and we set about trying to wake her up. It took some time, but she finally opened her beautiful eyes, and tried to reach for Jeff. He gladly climbed up into bed with her and we sat together as a family relieved and beyond thankful to see recognition in her eyes.
We started asking her questions at the prompting of the nurses, all the while aware that she wasn't fully conscious and that she had been through a prolonged seizure and been given A LOT of medication. As the minutes ticked by she began to become more and more alert and cuddled with her daddy. It was decided that I would go and get a bite to eat (it was about 10:30pm) then come back to the room.
At the cafeteria I spent way too much time trying to decide what to get, feeling as though any decision making ability I had before this all began had been completely erased. I ate while I walked back to the room. Norah was sitting up in bed, getting her hair washed and talking in a funny, high pitched, squeaky voice (it sounded crazy from the intubation and effects of sedation).
At 11pm Jeff left to get home and relieve Patrick while I stayed with Norah. The nurses and doctors were certain that between the seizure and all the medications Norah would sleep like a rock. Instead, she was up ALL night long. At about 1 AM I pointed out to the nurses that she was saying some funny things. She was seeing a lady feeding fish, spiders, ladders, and a puppy dog in my hair. Fortunately they believed me when I told them that she doesn't play like that and it was determined that she was indeed hallucinating.
Any doubt of that was erased when, at one point while cuddling with her on the bed, she thought my gloved hand (that was rubbing her tummy) was going to eat her and started screaming. Within seconds we had the entire floor of nurses in the room, and we decided that from then on we weren't going to worry about gloves, and I wasn't going to worry about my mask either.
It was an exhausting night that passed by in a blur. Norah could not get comfortable, and was distracted by the IV lines in both her arms. She kept messing with them, and when we tried to stop her from pulling them out, she became distracted by the line that hooked her up to the vitals monitor. Even when it was retaped to her big toe, the red light on it showed through the blankets and she was certain it was trying to get her. The nurses tried everything from giving her a beany baby puppy (that Norah named Scruffy), to a sweet lady bug blanket, and more. But no bribe was big enough to counter all the medications running through her. At 6:30AM I finally gave up, folded all my blankets and put them aside. We played and had a tea party, then at 9AM I was able to let her eat some real food. She picked a cheese pizza for breakfast and ate the majority of it before falling sound asleep at 9:30AM.
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