Another hospital stay

Oscar was vomiting relentlessly on Thursday so I headed into Emergency with him at about 7pm. He then spiked a temperature so we were in for the minimum 48 hours while they tested his blood for cultures and gave him fluids and antibiotics. His haemoglobin had also dropped and he needed a blood transfusion. Definitely made the right call taking him in.

There were no beds so we ended up spending about 18 hours in emergency. There are no facilities there and we were just in an isolation room without a bed to sleep on. It wasn't too bad though - I climbed up into Oscar's cot and slept as best I could cramped in with my feet sticking out through the bars. There was an eight and a half hour wait time in emergency (which is rare) and a lot of cranky people. We were tucked away in our little room in the eye of the storm but somehow detached from it. We don't have to wait as they usher us into isolation ASAP so Oscar doesn't pick up any of the germs.

We eventually went up to Variety Ward at 1pm the next day. We had our own room, which was good, but we had Oscar's CD player stolen, which was bad. I had bought a special calming CD with positive affirmations and nice sounds for him which he loved and it went with the player. I know the cleaner took it, I know when she took it and how she took it and her and her friend have a good scheme there. It's a shame the hospital care so little to find out what they are up to. I did tell the cleaner I know she took it and she just shrugged, as if to say, "yeah, but there's nothing you can do about it." The nurses told me it happens a lot and to just let security know. Security said to report it to the police as there is nothing the hospital can do. How about some security measures around how many cleaners enter your room, accountability for where they are and what they do?

Arg, it makes you lose faith in humanity. Still, if someone is stealing from a sick kid they must be very desperate indeed. Maybe they need the calming CD more than we do.

We arrived home Sunday. Oscar had completed his blood transfusion and the cultures were negative and as he hadn't had any more temps wo we were allowed home. Yay! Back to clinic Tuesday when he may need some platelets. He has two more nights of intense chemo and the Dr's say his bloods will take a big hit again this week. They expect him to be more his full healthy self in about 3-4 weeks. Then we start maintanence for 18 months. More about that later.

Thanks to everyone who keeps checking in on us and keeping us in your thoughts.