Chez Sick Kids- making the most out of a hospital stay with your child

We just got home from a 4 day stay at Sick Kids.  Zack has had several aspiration pneumonias (this was his 3rd this year!) and been very sick.  Last year, we had 4 hospital admissions with pneumonia, but had hoped that the gtube would have eliminated the risk this winter.  On Sunday, the whole family ventured down to Sick Kids emergency room hoping not only to cure his symptoms and reduce his high fever, but also looking for some expertise in how to prevent our complex little boy from getting so sick! 

With each admission, I have learned new ways to pass the time with Zack and to really take a break and enjoy some solitude away from the busyness of our regular schedules.  And while we miss the rest of our family terribly, we have learned to make the most out of our 4 day stay together!

1.  We brought Zack’s favorite toys to not only stimulate and entertain him but to practise a little OT as well!  When his spirits perked up, he was thrilled to have his drum to show the nurses his amazing drumming skills!  We also borrowed some (sterilized) toys from the playroom to test them out and have some variety.
2.  With two other boys at home, it is very rare that I can give 100% attention to one of my beautiful children…so I enjoyed my one on one time with Zack with no distractions from his siblings.  It gave us a chance to really have some unrushed fun and wonderful snuggles!

5.  Write a letter to your child in the hospital for their scrapbook or a letter to your children at home to remind them of how you miss them and how they are really helping their sick sibling by holding down the fort at home!
6.  Read some great brainless gossip magazines or watch daytime tv!  Take some relaxing time for yourself- no laundry, no meals to cook, no lunches to pack and no housework to do!
7.  Be sure to take advantage of the volunteers who can watch your child while you get a coffee or just go for a walk.
8.  Sleep when your child is sleeping!  I’m not a great napper in the daytime, but with horrible nights of interuptions from nurses, I took a nap when Zack did.
9.  Get to know the nurses and say thank you (often!).  I really love the chance to find out about the nurses and their own families- and they appreciate being asked!  
10.  Appreciate the people around you and ask for help when you need it!  I am fortunate to have an amazing mom who drops everything to come and help when we need it, awesome friends who check in with calls and emails daily and a loving supportive husband who pulls it all together to balance a stressful job with the demands of home while I am away.

Now that we are starting to do some further testing at Sick Kids, I feel like my advocating has paid off. We have a plan for lots of follow up and hopefully some new respirology and feeding clinics that will now be involved with Zack. In other words…our team has grown again! While part of my stay was indeed to be an advocate for my precious son, once he started to feel better, I also tried to make the most of the 4 days we had together in that isolated little room.