First Hopsital Day

Posted on 24. Apr, 2011 by Jillian in Glycogen Storage Disease

Jonny and Dallin got to go first this year. When we got upstairs I had serious guilt about being sick in the clinical research center, where no one is sick. I ended up putting myself in quarantine and using hand sanitizer every 5 minutes. The good news is the boys got to see one of their friends from the AGSD conference, and I got to chat/ shout across the room with his parents. Seriously, meeting other GSDers face to face is the sunshine in my world. GSD Life helps, but it just isn’t the same as in person visits.

Soon it was time for I.V.s. Jonny did sooooo well. This year we opted not to do the numbing cream- it seems to make their veins smaller and harder to get. We took him into a separate room, and the nurses turned on Spongebob to distract him. Jonny thought this was fabulous because I HATE Spongebob with a passion, and never let them watch it, even if we had cable T.V., which we don’t. I’m pretty sure the fact that I don’t like it, is why he (and his brothers) are so obsessed.  Anyway, he was so excited that he didn’t even flinch, let alone wiggle and cry when they placed his I.V. He did so well, I wish I’d recorded it, and I’m even grateful to the annoying cartoon.

Dallin went next. Sadly, Spongebob was mid commercial break, so he wasn’t quite as distracted. Ben grabbed the camcorder, and he did really well. He sounded a bit like a monkey, but he was able to calm himself down, and it only took one poke. I’m so proud of my brave boys, and I really appreciate the amazing nurses at Shands. They always take their time to make sure the kids are as comfortable, and unafraid as possible.

The rest of the day was probably the most relaxing we’ve ever had in a hospital visit. The boys got to play way too much wii (more than 20 min. a day makes them crabby), have a pillow fight with Dr. Weinstein, and they were even able to paint a ceiling tile to put up in the unit. They were so excited about that!  There were also plenty of times that Ethan “challenged” Dr. Weinstein to a game of fussball. Dr. W. would always be winning by 8 or 9 points, when Ethan would make a fantastic recovery and score 10 times in a row for the win. Imagine that. 

And, of course, there was the typical “Who wants a present???”

Jonny loves anything Toy Story!

One of Dallin’s toys was a spider. He thought it was hilarious to put it on his spider bite scar. Boys. I’ll never understand them.