Discharge-d

Three a.m., September 13, 2011: Life gives us lemons, but drinking the lemonade in a Wal-mart while buying clean underwear for yourself and your wife is just wrong. Thanks, Riggins!



Part I. The "diss" in DISCHARGE-D.

Four p.m., September 12, 2011: a call comes in on the hotline. "Honey, the doctor says we should go to the ER. It's in Plano." (30 miles away). Me, "OK, let's do it; I'll get Dylan; see you there." I didn't think about the underwear issue, but I did get Dylan some diapers. Way to go, Dad!

Two a.m., September 13, 2011: The seeds of wisdom are planted--you know the ones that sprout in the haze of our child (Grant in this case) awakening from sedation, of the uncertainty of where we'll sleep tonite, of the question how bad will it be, and of...

How to deal with a bacterially infected 3-year old in at least 5 steps:

1. Acknowledge that the child has a problem, a sore or inflammation appears. In our case, it was a big sore spot on Grant's thumb. We didn't think it was related that he had a painful pimple on his knee. So it's best to look for other sore spots on the rest of the child.

2. Do something about the problem, go to a doctor. Ask the doctor about the guidelines for prescribing antibiotics; this is important because it sets up the next question: Can he be treated now with an antibiotic that will treat MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)? In any event, accept that your child has an infection and will need to be treated. Stay calm, this could be a long haul.

3. You will be sent home with antibiotics and, if you have a three-year old, it will not want it. But get the meds into your child in anyway you can! More on this later. Antibiotics do not always work, even if faithfully taken, which Grant did. The "diss" is on.

4. If the inflammation does not get better within 48 hours, go to the ER. We did not do this, because the doctor said the two antibiotics would take longer to be effective and Grant never had a fever, both before, during and after this entire experience. It would have been crazy to bring a healthy kid to the ER. But if the inflammation does not get better within 48 hours or if a pus pocket forms (this is a white portion to an otherwise purple/red inflammed portion of the skin), go to the ER, skip your doctor, he or she cannot deal with it and will only send you to the ER, and by that point you cannot easily complete Step 5.

5. Pick a pediatric hospital with an ER that you are willing to stay at for at least three nights. One night anywhere is easy, but three nights is like moving in. Get an appropriate change of clothing, some snacks, basic entertainment (book, laptop, magazine, dvds); and most important feed and hydrate, if possible, your infected kid prior to arriving at the ER. The medical staff at said ER will ask you when your child last ate, and they will not sedate him unless he has not eaten or had any drink for six hours, but it will take the staff at least six hours to make a decision and take action, and in that time your child will get hungry and thirsty; so you're safe. Oh, don't forget your pets and other siblings!

Twelve a.m., September 13, 2011: The doctor is reading the consent-to-treat form, line by line. Sedation has risks, like "death" our ER doctor reminded us like three times. There are alternatives to sedation, but they're the kind that sound more psychologically painful than a simple 20-minute sleep. He's already had his blood drawn and has the IV tube in him; hasn't he been through enough?

I sign my name, giving consent, and we say a prayer.

Four p.m., September 15, 2011: Grant is discharged!



Stay tuned for Parts II - V in our five part series "Discharge-d"!

DISCLAIMER: Taking medical advice from the Interwebs is always a bad idea. Come on, people! And, by the way, the above is partially embellished to make it more fun, if you can call a staph infection fun.

Dylan? He's good...

The Transformers

The Benavides Family, Dallas Unit, was in San Antonio on Labor Day weekend. We were there to visit family and friends, but especially to celebrate the life of our Aunt Trina Topalis. We have known the fruits of her prayers she said in Connecticut, all the way here in Texas. Now that she is with the saints that prayer and its appeal to God's grace is only multiplied. Thank you, Trina.



A funny story from that weekend: Grant in the picture above is shown believing that there is a Transformer (a trademark of Hasbro) in the vicinity, and that obviously the fire department is here to clean up whatever mess has been made. He has, as evidence, the fact that the lights went out in the hotel we were staying at, the testimony of the front desk clerk who said that it must have been a transformer that caused the outage, and his parents refusal to clarify the mix-up. It's funny, right?

When the lights went out, we called the front desk and let them know that we, like everybody in the hotel, had no power. The desk clerk said a transformer must have gone out. Daddy gets off the phone and tells Mommy, with Grant listening, "It was a transformer; they'll get it fixed." Grant, his eyes wide and showing some concern, "A Transformer?" Mommy and Daddy looking knowingly at each other, "Yes, a transformer."

"Oh no!" says Grant.

"Well Grant, a transformer is a box that helps keep the lights on, not necessarily an extraterrestrial robot that changes into a car."

A blank stare comes back from Grant. Minutes later a fire engine shows up, and Grant explodes, "The Transformer!" He is certain the firefighters are here to deal with the Transformer.

So we run out and the nice firefighter lets Grant into the fire engine. The other firefighters walk away mysteriously out of sight, and presumably to deal with the Transformer.



**************

Later that night the Garcia sister-clan (Grants great aunts) and their respective families gathered at Pico De Gallo in San Antonio, or "Pickle De Ga-l-l-o" as Uncle Greg says, and enjoyed a great supper.



I like to believe that everybody there dined beneath the shade of Trina's tree, and the Mariachi trumpets of heaven sang "Hallelujah," or was that "El Rey."

Oh, and Dylan's doing great!