Eden and the ER!

You know that part in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, where the Grinch is trying to tug the slay back from the edge of the cliff and his heart grows something like six times its original size all at once?  I think that is something like what happens when a woman gives birth to her first child, her heart multiplies in size.  As that child grows, so also does a mothers heart, but as Katie learned on the 21st: a mother's heart can only take so much!

The 21st was Eden's second trip to the ER, but it was not nearly the joyful trip she experienced the first time.  Although she was not admitted, there was plenty of trauma and tears.  Turns out our little one only had a viral infection that should clear up in a few days, but coming to that conclusion required a lot of probing (literally).

Katie and I have been taking rectal temps for Eden ever since she started running a fever last week, but the nurse in the ER did not seem to have nearly the concern for Eden that we have as she jammed a much larger thermometer pretty far into her... Eden screamed like she just saw a demon!  Unfortunately that was only the beginning of the probing.

The next traumatic experience was a nurse attempting to give her Tylenol by the mouth.  Eden somehow managed to spit it out even though his technique was supposedly  flawless... He was surprised at her ability and said it made his night. Although, it did not help Katie's heart any, there was a bit of laughter involved (between the nurse and I ) as we watched Eden's stubborn side appear. He actually was a very nice guy and ended up giving Eden a colorful bear at the end of the night, and asked her if they could still be friends :)... However, since Eden wouldn't take the medicine by mouth, it was time to get it in her elsewhere... that's right, a suppository!

After the nurse popped the rather large suppository inside her, Eden hadn't even calmed down before two ladies entered to give her a catheter for a urine sample.  Eden did not make this easy, by peeing twice when they opened the diaper, thereby making it hard for them to collect a sample.  Finally, they put the cath in and Eden again screamed like she was being pinched!

At this point mother Katie had reached her heart's crying limit.  She nearly died just hearing her little darling scream for all three probes, unfortunately her night of crying was nowhere near done.We went home at 11:15 pm, and I had to go in to work that night.  Eden spent most of the night screaming as if someone were still hurting her, she wouldn't fall asleep. Finally, she gave in around 4am after watching veggie tales sing along 6 or 7 times with Katie and Uncle Ben.

Katie's mother heart was pushed over the edge that Saturday night, but the thing about these stressful times is we come out on the other side stronger.  Just like going through the agony and pain of labor produces a child that causes a woman's heart to multiply in size, the pain of seeing your child scream and suffer through pain makes a mother stronger and more able to love her through the tears.  Though we would not wish it to happen again, I think Katie is a stronger mother for it.