ER

January 17, 2010 Sunday

Everybody knows the scare that kids are capable of. ER's are a part of every parents world at one point or another. My kids know how to scare you better than the rest. Ian rarely gets sick, but when he does, he does it with great panache. So Ian had a virus this past week, and Opening Night of his play Safe Home was a nail biter as to whether or not he'd actually go on. He had the cast on pins and needles up to 7pm on Thursday. He pulled the performance out of nowhere and did a fantastic job. He bulled through Friday's show, but Saturday morning Ian woke us with, "Mom, I have blood in my stool." A call to the doctor and we were watching him closely. It could have been the Red Gatorade from the night before, or it could be blood. As the day wore on the Gatorade theory hit the road and worry set in. By 6pm it was clear the bleeding was getting worse and a trip to the ER was in order. So we headed North to NYU Medical Center and received, once again, stellar care. An IV drip placed into the now pale pale Ian and bloods drawn for tests, then more bloods taken for more tests, stool samples taken, and 5 1/2 hours later....we have the healthiest sick kid in America. None of the tests showed anything. So what caused the bleeding? We may never know, we still have to wait for the results of stool cultures. But the IV drip helped, the bleeding stopped, and we were sent home.

What I could handle easily years ago with Sarah I found exhausting with Ian. No doubt the Chemo treatments have something to do it. I found myself using up the ER's supply of Purell, no better place than a hospital to get something nasty. To our right, a family with a boy who had the Mumps (the mumps!) just last week, beyond that curtain a child puking her guts out. How lucky am I? I can only hope that I won't get anything new. Today, I'm slow to move, tired out from the "what ifs" of last night. Ian woke today as if nothing had happened. Happy, goofy, HUNGRY. He lost 10 lbs this past week on a frame that had little to lose to begin with. So this coming week I'm sure to have a hard time keeping food on the table. Thank goodness this is my "good" week.

This morning I rose early and headed to SGi to chant for my gratitude that it was nothing serious with my son and to pray for the dead of Haiti. Incense was burned by all there, a moving ceremony and those members from Haiti giving us thanks for the service. Life hangs by threads it seems sometimes. Everyday is a gift. A reminder to not squander it.

Ian is off to do his show, healthy and happy once again. My daughter readies for the Golden Globe Awards, and will, no doubt, look like the Starlet she is, and I will watch from the comfort of my home in my comfy clothes, barefoot and bald and beam with pride. Yes, life is a gift, and our children are our best gifts we give to ourselves. I am blessed, I am lucky, I am grateful.

Nite!

Light and Love!

Melissa