Friday's Adventures

(Gratuitous picture of Miles Davis, to make Philippe smile)

Friday's tests went well, at least from what Philippe would call an "operational" perspective. We probably won't have results until early in the week.

Charlotte and I got to the hospital around 9:15 a.m. She usually naps at 9 a.m. and had fallen asleep in the car. I got lucky because she did not wake up when I transferred her to the stroller. It was cold and rainy so I draped a blanket over the stroller and she slept peacefully until the very moment that our escort from Nuclear Medicine came to get us in the reception area.

Nuclear Medicine: Like the last time we did the VQ or lung perfusion scan, I left the suite when the IV team started to set up Charlotte's IV. She was screaming so loudly I had to go around to the elevators. I'm sure that at some point I'll have to stay with her so that she doesn't remember me as the mother who left for the painful things. But, right now I just cannot deal with blood related things. Poor baby. She screamed and screamed. They got the first vein, no problem, but it took a long time to calm her down. Not surprising--she had vomited up what I tried to pump at 5 a.m. for breakfast, she'd not eaten in +12 hours, she'd had "napus interruptus," and she as being pricked with a needle. Mom's shoulder did the trick for calming. Go figure.

Unlike last time, Charlotte did not calmly fall asleep strapped to the board. She cried and writhed. I had to pet her, talk to her console her, hold her head still, and sing to her for 75 minutes. I've got some pictures. They're on film (!) so check back to this entry in a week or so for the images.

Daddy stopped by for a while after his dentist appointment. Charlotte acted very brave for him.

When that was over, we went to the Procedure Suite for the anesthesized echocardiogram: The people in the suite went on and on about how cute Charlotte is. She was absolutely charming for the hour that we waited. Despite hunger and fatigue, she cooed and played and smiled at anyone who smiled at her. For the first time, I wasn't totally freaked when they took my baby to have anesthesia. Somehow, having the anesthesiologist carry the baby lovingly in her arms, rather than seeing her wheeled on a gurney/crib, was very comforting.

In about an hour Charlotte was back in the Procedure Suite for recovery. I walked in to get my phone and there she was. Screaming. Delirious. Typical emerging delirium from the type of anesthesia that she had. Philippe came to gather us and we sat with her for about 45 minutes until the gas wore off. She refused her bottle violently. The G-tube came in handy because we were able to put Pedialyte in her belly, determine that she could handle it, and get her discharged. She finally finished her whimpering and fell asleep when Daddy put her over his shoulder. Seriously, Daddy's shoulder is magic.

We got home around 4 p.m., I think. Charlotte was doing well enough that we had a friend in to babysit so we could go to synagogue and then out for a much needed bottle of wine and some food.

Dr. Young was not in the hospital on Friday and she's at a satellite clinic on Mondays, so we probably won't have any results until Tuesday or so. Will update again then.