The ironic thing is, the last blog before the ones about India, was about us getting back to normal. Well, that didn't last long! The night we moved in with our friends, the boys were up all night, with vomiting and diarrhea. By the time we would get one mess cleaned up and be back in bed, another would have at it. It wasn't long before I started feeling strange, but I thought it was just a lack of sleep and everything I was having to clean up. We were soon out of clean sheets and clothes. It was wild. Jensen and Riley woke up and felt better and we thought maybe it was a short bug. They started feeling "green" again after breakfast, while Pruitt didn't stir from his bed except to go to the bathroom. They ended up sleeping most of the day and actually kept down some medicine, as well as fluids. We thought we were over the worst of it. Then, when it was time for the 2nd round of meds, Jensen started throwing up again and Pruitt was so weak we had to practically carry him to the bathroom. Riley was doing okay though so we left him here with his new friends and he fell asleep with them while we took the boys to the ER of a nearby hospital. They were admitted and, after much arguing, were put in a private room together. The staff was shocked that the father was going to stay with them instead of the mother. They asked him if he would be able to manage. They don't know the amazing abilities of my husband! He is very patient and is also able to sleep anywhere. I knew if I stayed I would not be able to sleep much at all, plus I was feeling sick myself. When we told them that we have another younger one at home, they were okay with me leaving and Austin staying. We had a big "discussion" with the nurses when we got upstairs as well, trying to work out a solution so Austin could sleep too. Finally they brought in a sofa, but said it was only for one night and that at 7a.m. someone would come to take it out. When I came later the next morning, it was still there and it stayed there for the next night too. What a relief! We were so glad for Salma, our friend who went with us and helped argue on our behalf! Anyway, the boys were feeling much better by morning, having had IVs during the night. Pruitt was in tears though when I walked in, as they were putting his meds through his IV and it was burning a lot. After it was done though, they took his IV out and said it could stay out if he drank lots of water. Poor Jensen - his started bleeding back into the tube and was causing him a lot of pain. They were going to try and leave it in but I convinced them that he has had IVs before and sometimes his veins collapse, maybe they need to move it. I guess medical staff here treat the family members as if they don't know anything because sometimes the family will get really violent if anything goes wrong. So we were told to act really knowledgeable and assertive. In the end, they took it out and left it out, as long as he ate and drank a lot and took the meds orally. Boy, did he ever guzzle water! I have never seen him drink so much. There was no way he wanted that IV to be put back in! We also convinced them that Pruitt could take meds orally as well and he was so relieved!
So I stayed with them a good bit of the day, while Austin had a good breakfast, did a bit of shopping, including Tin Tin comic books for the boys, which they were tickled for. Salma brought Riley in for visiting hour at noon and again in the evening, with her son as well. The boys were so happy to see each other again, and Jensen especially was happy with the Dominoes Pizza she brought. The hospital food was very unappetizing. If you think American hospital food is bad, you haven't seen anything! A thick ball of mashed potatoes, a pile of overcooked, sticky rice, a bowl of watery lentils, some bland vegetable soup and a bowl of sour yogurt with some sugar on top. They ate some yogurt but wouldn't touch the other stuff. So by evening, Jensen was good and hungry. Pruitt still didn't have much of an appetite but was able to stand by himself again and showing improvement. After visiting hours were over, I went home with Salma and Austin stayed overnight with the boys. They had a really good night of sleep and, by morning, were bouncing off the walls! The doctor finally came by around 11:00 a.m. and said they could be discharged, though it took at least 3 hours to get it done, despite the fact that Austin kept putting pressure on. They finally were released and it was so so good to see them walk in the door, carrying their own bags, with big smiles on their faces! By the way, the official diagnosis was acute gastroenteritis.
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