Quinn visits the Hospital

A trip to the ER and a stay at the hospital helped me feel like an adult, a TV star and a much more grateful human being.


Well, I had a milestone as a mother. I had to make the call to rush my 14-month-old daughter to the emergency room. She was making the loudest possible noise a person could make with their lungs when she was breathing, but she was still walking around the house with a big smile. But at one point she took a turn for the worse and her little chest was caving in with each breath. I jumped into some crazy mom flight mode, and next thing I knew we were in the car and calling my mother to find out where the heck we should go since we were out of town and I didn't know where the hospital was.

I parked the car at Torrance Memorial Hospital, threw Quinn in a stroller and ran to the front door. But I wasn't sure what to do when I got inside. On TV the frantic mother runs in holding her limp child and screams, "Somebody help my baby! My baby can't breathe." I figured that was not the way it go (since most things on TV are not accurate), so I calmly walked in and told the lady at the window, "Hi, my little one here is having a hard time breathing. I think she needs to see a doctor." But I guess I could have gone with the first thought because they all jumped to it to check her in. Some poor women with stomach pain got booted behind us. (I heard her say her pain was an 8 -- sorry about that, Lady.)

The TV show continued when they put is on a bed in the ER hallway because there were not enough rooms. They sort of left us on our own for a minute, but we quickly got everyone's attention again when Quinn started to have another attack. We got a room and several nurses to help me hold Quinn down while she got an IV along with breathing treatments, chest x-rays and some steroid shots.

We ended up getting admitted into the pediatric ward and staying for two nights! Good Grief. I guess I made a good call by getting in the car when I did.

Our nurses were wonderful. The two we spent the most time with were Lisa and Elena. They really made me feel comfortable so I could do everything it took to make Quinn feel comfortable. They even searched for an Elmo DVD, which got Quinn through several of her breathing treatments.

The whole experience really made me feel grateful for health and good fortune. I felt very connected to the other parents and children in the pediatric ward. I was very aware that some kids spend far more time there than Quinn did and with much worse illnesses. I really am grateful that my little one is so healthy. I hope I never have to sleep at a hospital again (except to have more babies.)

It really is interesting to see a new world or situation from the inside. I've never donated to march of dines or to the Pennies by the Inch program they have here in Utah to raise money for the Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. But now just after a few days in that sick kid world, it seems to be the first place I would donate. I felt myself making a mental list of things the toy room and book cases needed for future kids, and I really wish I had any money at all so I could give. If anyone reading this has any money, send some books to the Torrance Memorial Pediatric Unit. They could also use some more baby dolls. A pink poodle, too. (For the books I would send good, quality chapter books that have won awards. All they had was some old chain books like Babysitter's Club.)

It reminded me of a special moment of clarity I had when we were in the hospital after Quinn was born. She was in a low level NICU, and she was given a handmade baby blanket to cover her warming table where she slept. I was so touched by the fact that someone in the community had taken the time to make it and donated it even though in the past I, myself, had sort of mocked those kinds of service projects. Everything changed once I saw the experience from the inside.

So, to sum up. I guess you can dramatically run into the ER and Thank God for health and for chances to see more clearly the love and lives of others.