05 Sep It is all a blurrrrrrr…
It is 5 AM here Tuesday morning in Bangkok….I am sitting in the hospital room with tears running down my face…this is really hard for me….my blogs are normally filled with joy and excitement….this one….written with a heart full of mixed emotions as I look at sweet Raina with an IV in her arm…Beth lying here…worried …catnapping as she constantly kisses and soothes her sweet angel…
This day began…or should I say yesterday with Beth and I getting ready to take Raina to the Dr. to hopefully get medicine to help her cough….she had progressively gotten worse over the weekend….but was not running a fever so we thought….get medicine…go eat lunch…maybe even a foot massage while we were downtown…
So we leave their house…now getting around in Bangkok is no easy feat…think about being in New York or Atlanta with all of the people and cars….but only single lane streets….then add bikes and motorcycles to the mix and you have a big traffic mess every time you try to go anywhere….so you walk to the end of their soi or street (20 or so houses) and catch a cab to the public transportation, which is an above ground subway kind of like you see at airports….but in order to get to it…you walk up like a thousand stairs…not really, but I am in pretty good shape and it was a lot! I don’t know how Beth did it pregnant…and now she does it with Raina in her arms so I guess it is the same….anyway….you go like 10 stops on the tram and then get off and walk 3 or 4 blocks to the hospital.
I must say the hospital is amazing..Starbucks and lots of restaurants and shops on the first 2 floors….we go up to the children’s facility and it is fantastic….play area…video games….so organized and efficient..they are constantly cleaning it… I was so shocked at the sweet people and the way they treated us….they got us in quickly and her Dr was so gentle and sweet….he is the head of pediatrics so I knew we were in good hands…he listened to her breathe and cough and said she must be admitted….she is too young to have this “quite ugly” cough and she probably has RSV or pneumonia….Beth immediately teared up as I patted her and told her it would be ok….the positive in this is that Raina is a perfect baby…she never cries much except when she is hungry and really did not act sick at all….so she is peacefully lying there…..not knowing what was about to happen to her.
They then did a series of tests and said her room was not ready but would be later…so we spent about 2 hours going to labs. The first of which was a finger prick to draw blood….as I describe these…please understand that the nurses were so sweet and gentle…they could not have been better and more sympathetic….but they had to squeeze her sweet finger so hard and it took like 2 minutes to get enough blood…she was not happy about that….I had watery eyes and tears were starting to flow from both of us…then they put this huge elephant nose on her for a breathing treatment that covered her entire face….Beth’s tears got bigger but Raina loved inhaling this medicine…she could finally breathe comfortably….then off to xray…Raina hated this….but the worst was yet to come…
The Dr called us back in…he had read the xrays…she had the virus RSV that attacks the bronchial tubes but ALSO had pnuemonia in both lungs!!! We were in shock….how did this angel have all this wrong with her and we did not know….Beth had mentioned to me the RSV on Saturday but I just thought she did not act very sick….Adley was sick and on antibiotics last week and Niah had pnuemonia 2 weeks ago…so she knew there was a chance she could have gotten sick from them….but we were still shocked….he then sent us to get an IV….that was when I lost it…Beth held strong (it was amazing how one of us seemed to stay strong with each event while the other was allowed to freak…I was supposed to be the strong one..not the one freaking) but this really put me over the top…seeing her little hand and that needle being forced into it….I still get sick just remembering it….She screamed to the top of her little lungs…but went right back to being the perfect child as soon as it was in…..it traumatized us more than her.
Then we were sent to the room…we chose the cheapest room….of course…kind of like a hotel…there are different rooms to choose from….on a missionary budget…with no room for medical emergencies (we will talk about that later) we had no hesitation….what I did not know was that their cheapest room is nicer than any hospital room I have ever seen in the states….kitchen, large bathroom, dining area….and this is not even a suite! There is even a sofa for me to sleep on and a cot for Beth….not to mention Raina’s baby bed….which she has been in about 2 minutes!! NO WAY she was not going to be cuddled during this traumatic time!!!
So I sit here with my mind whirling about how to help…I am so blessed to be here…we have decided I am a smomster…the mix of a mom and sister…I am not old enough to be Beth or Brett’s mom (almost…but not quite) but definitely a sister….I am very upset that they have to worry about how to pay for medical emergencies…I am still praying about how to help there….I have figured out that there is a paypal attached to their blog that will go into an account they can access for emergencies…so if you are reading this and want to help their financial medical burden of the last month…please go to their blog and contribute through paypal….or contact me and we will talk!
Raina is awake and hungry now….a good sign…pray for a quick recovery so we can get home to the rest of the family…Oh…I have to share this sweet conversation….We went back and forth yesterday on whether I should go home and take care of the kids and get them ready for school….and let Brett come to the hospital with Beth….or if I should stay with Beth and Brett take care of home (he is an amazing dad and keeps things under control with no problem!)….they decided to try to keep home as normal as possible…when the girls got home from school….they said daddy…we see you all the time…why couldn’t you let Ms Rhonda be here with us? So sweet….I loved it…not so sure Brett did!! haha!! Have a blessed day and keep praying for this sweet family who is faithfully doing what most won’t….Satan is attacking at all corners….but we know who wins!!!
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