We were discharged on Tuesday, November 10, after a 5 1/2 week stay for Rosie's open heart surgery. Free at last, or so we thought. Being in a hospital has its advantages. One of the disadvantages is that you are constantly exposed to germs, and Rosemary caught something just as we were on our way out. She spiked a 102.5 fever Wednesday morning. Desperate to stay out of the hospital, I called the Nurse Practioners at the hospital to see if I could manage the temperature from home. She responded well to Ibuprofen that day, so we avoided taking her in. Thursday morning, however, she spiked a 102.3 fever again. So into the cardiology clinic we came.
Being that it is cold and flu season, there were no beds available anywhere in the hospital. They said we could go to the ER and wait, or go home and wait for a call. We decided to go home. No beds became available for Rosie by morning so we opted to go to the ER. She was breathing faster, looking bluer than usual and it was obvious that she needed care. So off we went, back to Children's National Medical Center in DC.
Luckily, it was early, no one was in the ER and we went straight to a room, straight onto oxygen and Rosie finally got some rest. Her oxygen saturation levels were in the 40s and 50s when we got there, it was obvious she was air hungry and couldn't fight whatever she had caught on her own. It has been a long haul, it's not over yet. I'm totally over it. I'm tired of Rosie having to fight, tired of being here in the hospital, simply tired of it all. But as any parent knows, you do what you must do, when you have to do it, and that's it. Still, I'm totally over it. Mother Therasa, send me some patience!
Recovery takes time. I'm learning that a new level of "get over yourself" is required every day.
