ER Adventure

Well i knew we would end up in the hospital again at some point. We had a nice 2 year hiatus but life happens and we just roll with it. I Thank G-d from the bottom of my heart that it was NOT seizure related which is new for us and reassuring in a very weird way.

We sat down late and Yossi choked on his first bite of dinner- a cucumber- leaving his air way partially compromised. Thank G-d he was able to breathe the entire time and he didnt change color but he was clearly in distress. his body slackened, his head down and drool and mucus pouring out of his nose and mouth.

A call to Hatzalah brought an ambulance and several volunteers one of whom remembered us (and we remembered them) from the local hatzalah fundraiser in september. At that event we had  made a point  of introducing Yossi to local members in a non emergency setting. im glad we did because in the time of emergency it was calming to have help from some who was slightly familiar with us already.

As divine providence would have it  a pediatric ER doctor  was visiting his sister that lives on our block.   he saw the hatzalah members and followed them up the stairs to assist. he called ahead to his colleague to advise him of our arrival. i had never seen him before and i dont know his sister but we were grateful for his help.

En-route to the hospital the cucumber became dislodged from Yossi's throat and i was able to fish it out of his mouth. with his airway cleared he began to relax and feel better waving his hands as he normally does.  by the time we arrived in the ER yossi was sitting up on the stretcher and rocking it to and fro.

We were in the ER for a couple of hours just to do a chest xray and monitor his vitals to make sure everything went back to normal.  the hatzalah members were quite happy to have a printed sheet with yossi's information cuz it meant they could go home first and write the report later. the hospital nurse was also happy- having everything already written was much quicker and easier for her. it also simplified my life- i was able to focus on yossi instead of having to remember details about medications and medical history while i was frazzled and pre-occupied. hurray for printed lists!!

Even at its fastest an ER visit still takes a couple of hours (plus the drive to the hospital and the time leading up to that)  so my planned night out went down the drain.  i was so bummed to miss our shul's challah bake. i dont often get out to events and shiurim and i was looking forward to a nice evening.  well i got an evening out- a little more than i bargained for.

 My friend was visiting for Shabbos that week and decided to take over my kitchen and whip up a batch of Challah dough. she asked me if i would like to make the bracha. that was very sweet of her and kind of made up for missing the shul program. ( im so lucky to have such amazing and thoughtful friends)

Fortunately choking is a rare occurrence for yossi. (only choked once before at age 2 when he swallowed a triangular kippah clip) we normally cut his food into small bites and he has no problem. it just happened that he accidentally got a large piece of cucumber on this night.  We're thankful for hatzlah and the great hospital staff and we're all relieved to be home and healthy and moving on to more happy (hopefully) adventures!

Big Apple Kindness

Amusement rides, arcades and climbing mazes are virtually a rite of passage for children these days. most children can boast having partaken in at least one of these activities. special needs children are no different so on a recent sunday i loaded yossi in the car and we headed to Funstation- our local amusement venue.

i called ahead to ask a few questions because we'd never been before- i got sweet clear responses and i was grateful to hear that the place wasnt so full.  still i was in trouble the moment yossi spied all the flashing lights. he was off running and crawling in all directions while i tried to understand the packages for purchase and the 2 different token machines one for rides and one for arcades.

the lady at the front desk (incidentally she was  a manager)  immediately jumped in giving me an unlimited wristband and tokens .  she told me to go around and try out the different attractions, see what  yossi was able to do, and square away my bill at the end.

grateful for her thoughtfulness i accepted the wristband and off we went stress free to enjoy a fun day out.  yossi had a great time exploring and i had a wonderful time just focusing on him. after riding the helicopter for the 5th time in a row i was starting to get dizzy and id had quite enough of the noise and the lights so we returned to the front to pay.  as i approached the counter the manager told me "this one is on us" to which i replied  "im happy to pay" and she then said "he has a big smile, seems like he had a good time, now you'll know which rides he likes and you can come back again to play"
I had to turn away as i started to cry. i was totally surprised and overcome with emotion. i wasnt expecting a free pass. i was expecting to tire yossi out so he would sit long enough for me to pay (we came without the stroller). her offer to pay at the end made so much sense because as yossi gets bigger not all things are practical for him to do. i was amazed at how naturally she accommodated us and at her kind gesture. you can bet we will go there again!

as yossi gets older we are more limited and i always have the worry of the future on my mind.  im encouraged to know that there are people who care and see my child to be just like any other. and im overwhelmed and thankful for those people who go out of the way to help yossi enjoy his childhood.