Milestone: A visit to the ER

It has been a hectic week here. Last Thursday, Maïa got sick and then got a runny nose. She's recovering alright. Then Solanne got it, and it was a whole other ball of wax.

On Tuesday, Sol developed a fever, but it was low-grade and she was pretty much herself, only she slept a little more than usual. That night, she slept poorly (and a so did Mum!). Then yesterday, she was limp and listless. She slept in my arms most of the day. By the evening, she had a 40.1C fever (about 104F). I brought her to the emergency at the Children's Hospital.

We got through triage quickly and saw a doctor right away. Because Solanne was so weak and hadn't eaten or drank anything all day, they decided that they had to put her on an IV. To me, this was good news because I knew it would make her better. What I didn't bank on was the horror she would feel at being poked and prodded the way she was. I am not complaining, because I know it was all necessary, but it was hard to watch them insert a catheter to get a urine sample, and even more heart-wrenching to watch helplessly as the nurse tried three times to get a vein, only to have two of them collapse. The third stayed. In went the IV, and Sol's little arm was taped to a board to keep her from bending it.

I felt terrible for her. I couldn't believe that my little girl had to go through this. Once they had a good drip going, we were sent to Observation, where we spent the night. Solanne had to stay on the IV until she was willing to drink. Well, there's one thing I have to say for my girl: she has her opinions. She did not want to drink. So we stayed until 5 am, until I convinced her to take a few sips of pedialyte. And we went home, groggy, but happy to get back.

Through it all, though, I am immensely thankful. One: that the only thing wrong with her was an ear infection and dehydration. Two: that we have a medical system that works, most of the time. Three: that I didn't have to pay a cent to have access to quality care. Four: that we live in 2005, and not 1905, when a high fever and an ear infection might have killed my baby.

And as I type this, Solanne is in bed, fever-free. By early this evening, she was walking around again, talking, signing. She even learned two new (verbal) words this evening: "suce" (pacifier) and "dada." All in a day's work for her, I guess.