Kara's Appendectomy and our Experience with Children's National

On Monday, I came home from work to Kara saying she wasn't feeling well. She said her stomach was upset and she was very agitated. She said it started in the morning and got worse as the day went on. She didn't want to go to the nurse because she figured the nurse would just send her back to class. She threw up about 10 minutes later and kept throwing up. She sat on the couch moaning and couldn't even watch t.v. or play her kindle. I was worried, but figured it was just a bad stomach bug. She didn't have a fever and the pain was around her belly button. I promised her she would feel better in the morning. Kara had a lot of trouble falling asleep and when she woke up she was still in pain. I thought she was acting better, but she said she felt the same. Of most concern was she couldn't stand up fully. She was walking around hunched over. The pain was still in the middle of her stomach and she still didn't have a fever, but we decided to go to the ER anyway.

We got there around 9 and saw the doctor around 11. They immediately thought appendicitis. They gave her Zofran and some Tylenol and she finally felt better (she threw up 11 times from 4pm to 9am!). The poor kid was super hungry, but they wouldn't let her eat or drink anything, except for the CT contrast.  When we checked in, her temperature was 99.5. When she got to the back, it was 102.8. She was also really dehydrated. I called Thomas and he left work and met us at the hospital. But, then she got better. She could walk normally and said the pain was gone. We figured it was probably a virus made worse by the dehydration. We even talked about cancelling the CT, because why expose her to the radiation? But, her white blood cell count was elevated, so they strongly suggested we do it anyway. And, of course, we don't ignore medical advice when it comes to the kids. 

At 2, they had the results of the scan. Her appendix was 3x its normal size! They had already talked to the surgeon on duty and he wasn't comfortable operating on her, so they were trying to arrange transport to Children's in DC. They wouldn't let us drive her because they feared her appendix could rupture on the way. She was starving, but the nurse said she would have surgery that night so she couldn't eat or drink anything. We had a friend who had recently had the same situation and Children's didn't operate on her son until the following day (despite the local hospital telling her with certainty he would be operated on that night). Thomas called Children's, but all they would say is that they would have to evaluate her when she arrived. The staff at our hospital said they were confident that based on her CT scan, her operation would be that night.

Children's transport couldn't give our hospital a time when their ambulance could arrive, so we used an independent company. They got there around 6 (4 hours after diagnosis). Thomas rode with her and I followed right behind, I was afraid of getting car sick, and Kara was fine as long as one of us was with her. We got to the hospital at 7:30 and Kara checked into her room. They had the room ready for her and on the whiteboard, they had her listed for surgery the next day! Ugh!!! Apparently, that is the default if you arrive outside normal hours. We were kind of irritated. She was in pain again and super hungry. But, they couldn't tell us what time the surgery would happen, so they still wouldn't let her eat. We had arranged for a friend to spend the night with the other kids, figuring Kara would be having the surgery and we both wanted to be there for that part. But, instead, we just hung out all night. Had we known before we left St Mary's that the likely plan was surgery on Wednesday, one of us would have gone home to be with the other kids and come up the next day. 

In the CT scan (she wanted pictures to show her siblings, which is also handy for blogging).

Strapped in to begin her ambulance ride

It was a restless night. We saw a doctor around 8pm and he confirmed the surgery would be the next day.  He said the antibiotics bought them time and would keep her condition stable, so there was no hurry (again, information that would have been more useful when we called). Another doctor came in around 9pm and told us that the surgery times would be set in the morning and that when the doctors did their rounds at 7am, they could tell us when. He also said she could eat since it was before midnight. But, the 8pm doctor had said she couldn't have anything. After the nurse pointed out the discrepancy, they decided she could have ice chips only (I think the 8pm doctor outranked the 9pm). No doctor ever came in the morning. We asked the nurse repeatedly and she just kept saying a doctor would be in soon. Then, she told us the doctor said they had come by, but we weren't in the room. Not true! I left the room briefly at 6:30 to go for a little walk, but I saw they were in the hall, so I came right back. And, Thomas never left. I actually heard them outside her room at 6:45, discussing her. They didn't come in and I assumed they would return. 

After the nurse called again, a doctor finally came in at 11:45 and said he wasn't sure how they had missed us. But, he had no information. He didn't know when her surgery would be. She was an add-on, so he figured they would put her at the end of the day, around 3. We explained we had 3 other kids at home that we needed to plan for, and told him the other doctor said she would be listed on the board in the OR, but he just held firm that he had no idea. 

Right after he left the nurse came in and told us the OR had just called and they were coming to get Kara. Yeah! We met her surgeon, who we liked and the operation started around 2. We saw lots of kids coming in for surgery. Most appeared to be scheduled surgeries. And, I am sure they had waited a long time for their surgery date. But, I couldn't help but feel that if you were going to push someone, it should be the kids who aren't in pain. Kara hadn't eaten in more than 48 hours and she was scared and in pain. I get that to them an appendectomy is pretty routine, but it was really hard to sit around with no real information. And, I feel like a lot of the frustration, actually all of the frustration, would have been eliminated with consistent communication. She could have at least eaten something the night before and we could have made advance arrangements for the other kids. 

While people were nice, they didn't seem to really care, if that makes sense. The nurses were better, but even they weren't great. It regularly took them a long time to come in to turn off her beeping IV (which seemed to go off every couple of hours).  At one point, she had to go to the bathroom and it took at least 20 minutes for them to come unhook her (they were pumping her with fluids). Another time, they just never came at all and Thomas finally wheeled everything in with her.  Although, in fairness, they definitely did their best to alleviate her pain. However, the nurses at St Mary's when I had my C-section with Luke were much more responsive.

But, back to the surgery, we finally decided that I would go home after she was out of recovery. We didn't want to leave the kids 2 nights in a row, especially since nothing was arranged at home. The guest room wasn't ready, the house was a mess. It just didn't feel right or fair. Of course, leaving Kara again didn't feel right or fair either. She came out of recovery and was shocked the surgery had happened. Before she went in, the anesthesiologist told us she would wake up and feel like only a minute had passed, and he was right. We told her she was done with surgery and her response was, "already, are you sure?". She quickly ate a popsicle, which she then threw up. She had a lot of pain, which seemed to surprise the nurse. They gave her more medicine and she felt better. I left shortly thereafter to go home to the others. The surgeon had said Kara could go home the next day. The surgery had gone really well and while the appendix definitely needed to come out, there had been no rupture. I got home around 5:30 and Thomas called and said another doctor had just come in and said she could go home that night! Ugh, again, information was not consistent! I was more than willing to go and pick them up, but I was nervous about her coming home when she had so recently thrown up and been in so much pain. Thomas agreed and we opted to have her spend the night.

I got there the next morning around 1000 and she was a new kid. She was sitting up, eating, could walk to the bathroom on her own and no longer had watery, sick eyes. It was such a relief. She actually walked all the way to the car! She had Motrin when we got home, but hasn't had anything since. She is already planning on returning to school Monday. Our kid is tough!

I realize this sounds like a lot of whining. At the end of the day, we fully recognize that the most important thing was she have a successful surgery, which she did. And, it isn't their fault we live almost 2 hours away (thanks to DC traffic). Yes, communication should have been better, but our childcare issues were the fault of distance, one huge drawback to where we live. I am grateful for skilled surgeons and nice nurses (even if they didn't come quickly, they were always nice). And, I am really grateful for the friends who helped us and those who checked in on us. Kara loved hearing the messages of well-wishes and it truly made a difference to know so many people were thinking of her. We received many text messages and phone calls and felt lots of love and support. My friend Kayce got the other kids off the bus on Tuesday and picked up Luke. She fed everyone dinner and kept them entertained. My friend Jennifer came over at 7 and took over. She put them to bed, spent the night, and got them off to school the next day. Another friend (Dana) drove Luke to Prep and Play. Then, Kayce did it all again until I got home on Wednesday. Yet another friend (Summer) was fully prepared to spend the night Wednesday, but as mentioned, I decided not to leave them 2 nights in a row. Many more were willing to help out and offered meals and anything else we needed. It meant so much to us! It is hard not living near family, so having friends willing to step in makes such a difference and we are so thankful!

One more cool story--the blanket was given to her at St Mary's Hospital. It is part of the Linus Project. People in the community make them for children in the hospital. She kept it every step of the way. Yet another thoughtful gesture, this one from a stranger!

Vacation Day 7: Newport

People were pretty tired on Thursday morning. Poor Luke's voice was hoarse and his foot had a blister. Even a more relaxed vacation (from my point of view) is still pretty intense for a little kid. We let them sleep as late as they wanted and had a fairly relaxed morning before heading to Newport. Our plan for the day--mansions! We started with the Breakers, the biggest of them all. The gilded age is definitely well-named. The mansion is very impressive. And, definitely over the top. For example, in the "silver room" the walls were actually accented with platinum, because silver needs polishing and platinum will stay shiny forever. Luke and I shared headphones, so I did the kids tour and it was fun. The summer schedule of the Vanderbilt children sounded pretty darn nice: wake up, breakfast, swimming in the ocean, lunch, nap (on clean sheets), horseback riding or tennis lessons, dinner, bed (on clean sheets). They changed clothes at least 4x a day and that combined with all the clean sheets must have made for an insane amount of laundry. But, fortunately, they had 40 servants to take care of them. And, this was just a summer home (I believe they owned several)! The cost of building the mansion was 150M in today's dollars.

Ostentatious, yet beautiful

This, I would love. An amazing view of the ocean from a huge veranda.

We had a light lunch and decided on our next mansion. We chose Rosecliff. It was not as spectacular, but it did have the largest room in Newport. The owner, Tessie, a Nevada silver heiress, built it for entertaining and we heard great stories of lavish parties, not only at Rosecliff but at the neighboring Newport Estates. One funny story talked about a monkey being dressed as a prince and literally swinging from the chandelier and throwing light bulbs at people. Allegedly, that was the straw that broke the money's back and the old money turned their backs on the new money (what else is there to do when you're super rich besides feud with other super rich people?). Tessie fled to Europe for a bit, but then returned to Newport and like others, refused to travel again after the sinking of the Titanic. The elaborate parties continued until she died at 56. The estate went through a couple of owners before the last private owners bought it and used it for 25 years as their summer home. When they died they donated it to the Newport Historical Association. Today, it is used for tours and weddings.

Rosecliff

The largest room in Newport. Built to host parties.

Another grand piano.

Many of us wanted to see more mansions, but unfortunately, Luke was done. D.O.N.E. He was good for Rosecliff because I bribed him with the promise of ice cream, and he is generally agreeable to begin with. But, he couldn't stand the thought of seeing any more buildings. I wanted to do the Cliff Walks, but it was super hot and again, Luke was Done. So, we went back to the house and watched a movie, did laundry and started preparing to get back on the road Friday. We ordered pizza and calzones and it was a peaceful final night in our awesome rental house.

Note made on 6/20/23: see June 2023 for Cooperstown Flashback memory to complete vacation.

Beach and Red Sox

Wednesday was highly anticipated by everyone in our family. We started the day with a trip to Horseneck Beach. It was amazing! We played in the waves and on the sand and had so much fun. Everyone (except Luke) liked jumping into the waves and seeing how far they could be carried. This beach is known for large waves and it did not disappoint. Unfortunately, we weren't super prepared for a beach day (no toys or chairs). I think we could have stayed all day and I am thinking a beach vacation may be in order for 2020 (2019 is Disney World).

But, we had other things on our agenda. We stayed for a few hours and then went to my mother's grave. It was sad, but nice. I miss her and seeing her grave is just a visual reminder. The loss is there whether I am at a cemetery or driving to work. I have said it before and I will say it again, she was wonderful and I miss her.

I told the kids that I think she would appreciate that we visited her and were sad she wasn't with us, but she certainly wouldn't want us to dwell on it. After our visit, we headed across the street to Handy Hill. It was our favorite ice cream stand when I was a kid and it really hasn't changed. We enjoyed our ice cream and then went back to the rental house for a late lunch. Everyone rested for a few hours to gear up for our next big event--a Redsox game at Fenway Park!

We got to Fenway just before the game started. The park was super cool and the game was amazing! Of all the games I have been to, the Boston experience was definitely the best. It was a Wednesday night game and they were playing the last-place Marlins. And, the game was still sold old out! We had great seats right near the foul pole, only a few rows up from the field. The people sitting around us were super nice and the whole experience was thrilling. In the bottom of the 7th inning, the Red Sox were down 5-3. Then, we witnessed the most amazing inning. The Red Sox scored 11 runs! In one inning! It was crazy. Multiple people batted twice. In one inning! Everyone was on their feet. The poor Marlins went through multiple pitchers, but just couldn't get it. When the score was 9-5, they played Dolly Parton's 9-5 song. I have never heard that before at a game and it was funny. Of course, after about 5 runs, we started to feel a little bad for the Marlins. And, it was almost a relief when they got the third out. Interestingly, the same guy was responsible for all 3 outs. He had a sacrifice bunt for the first out and then hit into a double-play for outs 2 and 3.

Finally at Fenway!

Luke with the foul pole and Green Monster

Anna wanted one to take to school

Look at that 7th inning!

We loved singing Take me Out to the Ballgame. And, of course, there was the quintessential Red Sox experience of singing Sweet Caroline with 40,000 screaming fans. It was so, so fun! We didn't get home until close to midnight, but it was definitely worth it.

Good night Fenway.