So the last few days have been tough!
I got home Saturday morning to Jo telling me Alex wasn’t well. He then emerged from the bathroom looking a bit washed out, curled up on the couch and went to sleep at about 9 am.
A bit of motherly investigation concluded he’s got an ear infection on the cochlear side, which really isn’t good…
A call to the GP – booked out till Sunday if we’re happy to take the only appointment available with a doctor we don’t know. Nothing personal, but we wanted action quicker than that!
A call to the urgent care clinic – 90 mins+ wait time and their recommendation (based on discussion of Alex’s history) was to go to the Women’s and Kids.
So off we went.
Being an Oncology patient, he tends to skip the queue in emergency particularly with a fever. We were seen by a number of doctors who eliminated everything they could, checked his ear and said, “Oh, that looks like an ear infection!”
Because of his complex medical history, they decided to discuss with ENT, and Endocrine, and Oncology with the consensus to put him on IV antibiotics. One failed — not a fun experience for Alex or myself — and one successful attempt later, he’s got a canula in; he’s pretty proud of himself, and the roundabout of meds began.
Saturday night was a night of sleep I never really saw, but Alex got his meds and started to pick up across Sunday.
This is where logistics got difficult:
- I’m studying a Cert IV WHS in town this week, but had prep reading and theory to do over the weekend which I tried to do in the ED and ward.
- The public holiday today, and Jenny’s school has a student free on Tuesday.
- Plus I had such a bad sleep on Saturday, it really wasn’t safe for me to drive.
A friend from CFS came to the rescue bringing Jo to the hospital and took me home. Then returned Monday morning to take me back so I could do my day’s study and get my car.
In the meantime: Jenny was at Dad’s for the day, and tomorrow she’s got some great company again while I get study done and HOPEFULLY bring Alex and Jo home. So quickly while I think of it, thanks to everyone who has helped or offered to help over the last couple of days — you know who you are — becasue you’re so greatly apprecaited.
I say hopefully because the lab hadn’t even looked at the swab from Alex’s ear (taken around midday on Saturday) by the same time on Sunday. Jo tells me there hasn’t been progress today either because it’s a public holiday, so until we get those results: Jo and Alex will still be in the hospital for at least tonight and potentially tomorrow night.
On the bright side: Another 24 hours of antibiotics and Alex seems back to rights and is chirping away, entertaining and chatting to anyone and everyone within earshot. 🙂
Plus Jo took in a lego kit to keep him occupied. Keep everything crossed for us so they can come home tomorrow. I’m sure I’ve missed something or someone here, so please forgive me – I’m tired and need sleep but have homework to do for my course.
