Enough!

You know there comes a time in every kids life when they get sick. It happens. Its inevitable. Sometimes... they get so sick that hospitalization is needed. I am thankful for hospitals that are there to help make kids gets well and move on with their lives.

When I became a child life specialist I knew that I would be working with kids in the hospital and that I would have to get used to seeing them sick, scared and unsure. However, never did I think that I would have to be seeing my own nieces and nephews in the same situations that I deal with on a daily basis and as often as I have lately.

It all started a few years ago when I was in my internship at Primary Children's. One of my nephews had a bump on his face. We had no idea what it was. My sister took him to the clinic where I was at for the doctor to look at and take care of it. The doctor ended up having to use this little piece of equipment to squeeze out what was inside. Lets just say that as much as I had seen that happen with other kids, I did not cope well seeing my little nephew have to go through it. I almost had to leave the room. One good thing that came out of that experience was that my empathy for patients and their families grew a lot that day! Luckily he hasn't had to go back since!

Then we move onto the next encounter. My sweet little niece had to have not only 1 but 2 operations on her leg because of that stupid rock that attacked her. Not only did we have to all deal with the accident itself, but then there was the ambulance ride, the IV start, the surgery and then the wheelchair/cast afterwards. Talk about Trauma!!! After we got through the cast removal we thought we were in the clear (You like how I talk about this as if I was there! John, Laura, and Lucille you rock for all that you went through and how you handled it! :) )Then to top it all off she had to do it all again! Well, not the accident or ambulance ride- thankfully- but the surgery and cast. My heart broke the night they called me about another surgery. It was weird how when Laura asked "What do we tell her?" and my first thought was "I don't know! Are you SURE she has to do this again?" It's weird how when you're emotionally connected, all your training and things that you do and say DAILY leave you mind so quickly. Luckily, my brain came back to me and we were able to get Lucille prepared properly for her surgery. I hear she was and still is a rock star! But after this cast comes off- NO MORE hospitalizations for you young lady! :) You've had enough for a life time! However, again- a positive that I got from through this experience was that I have noticed that I take my surgery tours much more seriously now. (Not that I wasn't before, but they mean more to me now). And again now that I have been on the other side, I am much more empathetic to the families when they come in.

Now we come to tonight. I got a text this morning from my brother saying that P-dog was in the ER with a flare up of his asthma. When I got home from church I was informed that he was going to be admitted to the hospital since it just wasn't getting better. Since P-dog had to be transferred to another hospital, I was really hoping that they would go to Scottsdale Healthcare where I work because I know everyone there, but according to Jeff "That's halfway to Salt Lake!" so they opted to go to another hospital. - ( It's only an hour from his house! Whats the big deal?! :) ) Anywho- I went to see him while they were still in the ER waiting for the ambulance. We were able to talk about what the IV was and what it would be like in a hospital over night etc. But again, it hurt my heart to see my little guy like that! He was a trooper though and he kept me laughing all night. Some of my favorite quotes were: He told me that he liked the hospital food but, "I didn't eat the soup though. It looked like my barf looked but with beans and lettuce in it!" SICK!!! Then when I mentioned how tired Allison looked he said "At least when you cough your lower intestine doesnt hurt!" Interesting choice of words! And finally I told him it was too bad that it was Sunday and I couldn't buy him anything to help him get well- he said "Well, you can bring me a present tomorrow!" He's so funny. Then they strapped him on the stretcher and started wheeling him to the ambulance. Again I was struck at how weird it was to see P-dog on a stretcher- Something that I see daily, but not with someone that I love so much! I didn't like it! Not one bit! Hopefully it is just an over night stay and he can go home tomorrow!

And not to mention all of the many times daddy-o has been through the hospital in the last couple of years!!!

So here's the deal-eo- Listen up all you members of the Young family. After this Wednesday when Dad has his LAST surgery there will be NO MORE visits to the ER or needing to get admitted or needing more surgeries! Are we clear?! Good. And hey- If I need to use bubble wrap on everyone I will! :)