toys in the hospital?

A

amber682

New member
    I think my son (18 months old) is
going to be admitted to the hospital Monday for about 2 weeks. The
doc said if the coughing/wheezing is not better by then, and
it is much worse. We've tried antibiotics, neb, and even an inhaler
in case it could be asthma, but no improvement.
   <br>
     Anyway, my question is this: Do I
bring toys from home or use the playroom ones. I'm kinda worried
he'll catch something off of those. Am I even allowed to bring toys
from home? If so I'm definately bringing a few favorites, but
will anyone get mad if I go walking in there with a big bag of
toys? His favorites are mostly smaller trucks, but he just loves to
push around his toy lawnmower and vacuum, but they're kind of big.
Should I leave them home? I just can't imagine how I will keep him
entertained in one room for 2 weeks. I feel weird about walking in
with a big bag of toys and a big bag of clothes/toiletries for
myself, plus my little bag of snacks, etc. I want him to feel as
much at home as I can.<br>
    BTW, does anyone know if they have
pediasure there? The dietician has him on that instead of milk.
Should I bring some from home? The last thing I want to do is
switch him to milk when he's fighting off an infection.<br>
    Please help!
 
J

JazzysMom

New member
Dont feel bad about "moving in" with all your stuff. You & your child need to be comfortable. Be sure to have clothing that you both are comfortable in & if you are going to put your little in his own clothes it has to accomodate the iv! Otherwise stick with the hospital gown for him. Our hospital has lots of toys & videos etc, but I would try to stick to what is his. I am sure if he ever sees or finds out that there are "new" toys around it will be hard to keep him away tho! As far as pediasure...not sure how it works with your hospital, but this is how it works at mine. The dietician comes & goes over what you use at home. When she finds out what snacks I want & what shakes if any. They put the order in for those to come to me with my meal trays. It does take a few days for that to kick in for some reason. I also found (in the last few years) that it takes a few days to get my enzymes so I do bring a bottle of enzymes & some shakes to start me off. Everything else seems to be standard, common sense & if in doubt follow your gut!
 
C

coltsfan715

New member
I was going to second what Mel said. I would try to stick with his toys from home. I know some of the bugs I have caught I have gotten from being in the hospital. Do not feel bad. I normally role in with a suitcase, pillow, teddy bear and games/magazines/books/movies whatever. I am sure they will understand and that you will not be the first person to do it. That being said you may want to wait and see what the room is like before you bring up the bigger toys - i.e. there may not be much space for him to push around a vaccuum or anything, so there may not be much reason to bring it.

I also second what Mel said about taking enzymes. I have gotten into the habit of taking some of my meds with me for the first few days. Pretty much anything in pill form and my insulins. I would try to do a breathing treatment before you head to the hospital if your son requires them. Sometimes in our hospital it can take some time before they get all the info in the comp and send someone up to the room for that stuff.

We always bring snacks too. No big deal, but I know they usually try to accomodate the best they can with ordering food for you as brunch and mid day late night snacks as well.

Hope everything works out and he starts feeling better very soon.

Lindsey
 
J

JennifersHope

New member
I agree 100% about the enzymes... If I had to wait for the nurse to bring in it, I would never eat...I can't imagine having a baby wait for his food because of enzymes.

As far as the toys, I would bring his own as well, but stay away from stuffed animals or things that can't be sterilized. Push toys, trucks etc sound like great toys to bring. I would buy a box of clorex wipes and bring them with you, wash down his toys from home frequently. Send his blankets from home or what ever home to be washed often....

Videos and stuff I would just bring his favorite and then use what they have there.. BUt wipe it with CLorex wipes first...

Don't worry about how much stuff you bring... Nurses understand you are entertaining a toddler.......and who cares what they think anyway.. I would agree for you to bring comfortable clothes for yourself as well... Nothing worse then tight jeans when you are sitting around a hospital all day...

About the Pedisure, our hospital has a different brand name of Pedisure, so be sure to call ahead and ask what is their formulary brand they carry....


Good Luck,

Jennifer
 
L

letefk

New member
Bring in things from home. We absolutely moved in during our hospitalization. For a long stay, it can be hard to keep them out of the playroom. I posted some other suggestions on your last thread on how we managed that, (good hand washing, avoid others, wear a mask), but most are echoing the suggestions here. If he is going to be on an i.v., though, remember that his mobility will be a little restrained.
One of the ways I coped with the long stay was to try to really focus on the fun things we could do together. It gave me something to do, other than feel helpless and afraid. (I still felt that way, but at least I could distract myself a bit). Tess is older than Vinny, but perhaps you can adapt some of these for Vinny's age and personality:
-- we named her I.V. stand (Bob), and all the other equipment, and made jokes and told stories about them. (She would put Bob on time out when he beeped). We took walks around the halls, playing follow the leader with Bob, etc. Exercise was encouraged, so... If Vinny likes to push a toy lawnmower, then just think of the hours of fun he can have pushing his i.v. stand. (You will be a wreck, trying to keep the cords straight, of course...)
---I bent some rules (let her watch as much t.v. as she wanted, which she loved!) but kept others, so she felt things were still consistent. This helped with the "I'm sick of this place" meltdowns.
--- Try to stay relaxed and positive. This was hard, but my daughter is really tuned into my emotions, and so since I was at ease and joking (my usual self), she was more at ease with the staff and treatments. We made a big deal about her PICC line (Wow, isn't that neat?), which was tough, as I was completely freaked out by it.
---Trust yourself and your understanding of what your child needs for his emotional well-being. You know him best, and you will do what you need to help him though this.
 
L

letefk

New member
One other suggestion; most of Vinny's needs will be met at the hospital, so be sure to bring what you will need to keep yourself in shape. In addition to clothes, think about food and drink for the times that you have no one to relieve you. Actually, these are great things to ask others to bring for you, if you have friends or family that will visit. Our hospital is an hour away, so we did not have many visitors, and it was mostly me there, 24/7. So we stocked up on gatorade and meal bars. Our hospital only brought parents one box lunch a day. Others may be more generous. The first few days, I was so caught up in taking care of Tess that I forgot to do what I needed to keep my energy up. Stay hydrated, and remember to eat. Sounds stupid, but the first day or so is a bit crazy. I almost passed out during Tess's PICC insertion, not because it was in any way a terrible process (a piece of cake, really) but because I had not eaten much or had any fluids that day. Stupid! I was too dizzy to help comfort her as she came out of anesthesia. Sometimes, to take care of our children, we need to remember to take care of ourselves. I am not that good at that one!
 
A

amber682

New member
Thanks everyone, I feel a lot better about the 3 bags (one is BIG)
that I'll be bringing in with me tomorrow. I'm already packed up
because I am so anxious that I couldn't relax until I felt like I
was all done and ready. I'll feel a bit better once we just get
there and I can stop worrying about what they're going to be doing,
and just get it over with. I will miss this forum while we're gone,
it is a source of great strength to me. I saw someone post that
knowledge is power a little while back, and this site gives me
knowledge! I wish I had a laptop! Anyways, I will be sure to post
when we return and let you know how Vincent is doing.<br>
   
 
J

JazzysMom

New member
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>amber682</b></i>

Thanks everyone, I feel a lot better about the 3 bags (one is BIG)
that I'll be bringing in with me tomorrow. I'm already packed up
because I am so anxious that I couldn't relax until I felt like I
was all done and ready. I'll feel a bit better once we just get
there and I can stop worrying about what they're going to be doing,
and just get it over with. I will miss this forum while we're gone,
it is a source of great strength to me. I saw someone post that
knowledge is power a little while back, and this site gives me
knowledge! I wish I had a laptop! Anyways, I will be sure to post
when we return and let you know how Vincent is doing.

   </end quote></div>

Check with the floor. They might have a computer that you can use to check in maybe while the little one is sleeping etc!
 
L

letefk

New member
Probably too late for you, Amber, but for the record, some
hospitals now even have wireless networks or network ports in
rooms.  If you have a laptop, and are a computer nerd like me,
bring your computer.  I was able to sit in my room and upload
photos and updates to our family web, so out of state family could
stay in touch and informed.  I only wish I had known about
this forum back then, it would have been great to have some advice
on the spot.<br>
<br>
I am sure that I speak for us all when I say we will be thinking of
you and wishing the best for Vinny.
 
L

letefk

New member
Duh... okay, I have just caught myself failing to read posts
carefully before I respond.  Sorry Amber, you have already
said that you don't have a laptop.  <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif" border="0">
 
R

Ratatosk

Administrator
Staff member
Sometimes it's best to have your own stash of snacks, meds, etc. I hated waiting for the RT's to show up with the neb drugs -- they'd forget, so DS's CPT Would get delayed. The nurses would get busy and forget to bring his meds or formula. Less stress if you have something to fall back on. As for the toys. Ewww, bring your own. Who cares how much luggage you bring along, as long as your child is comfortable. Liza
 
A

Abby

New member
We absolutely move in when Abby was in for 2 weeks in January. We took 5 bags with us and left with 10 by the time she acquired new toys from visiting family and friends and the hospital lifecenter. Our hospital doesn't allow her to play with toys from the hospital play room so we had to bring our own. They did send somebody down every day or every other day and she would bring in brand new coloring books, art kits, etc that Abby could keep and work on throughout the day. Another life-saver, not only for Abby, but for us was a portable DVD player. Bring your own snacks too, it's cheaper than the veinding machines. Our hospital has a family refrigerator that you can keep things in too so we brought our own sodas and were able to keep leftovers in too, just label with your name or they seem to disappear.

Our hospital didn't have Pediasure but another brand, they delivered two on her breakfast tray every morning, but they also had some in the nutrition room that we could get whenever we needed.

We brought our own enzymes and used them and then they sent home her bottle that the pharmacy provided when we left. We love our nurses, but they don't always have time to bring in the enzymes when you need them or forget to bring them when the meal trays are delivered.

Bring your childs pillow and favorite blanket too, it helps them feel more at home.

Another thing for mom or dad to keep busy with is word searches, crossword puzzles, etc. You will have a lot of idle time and at these will at least work your mind a little.

Don't forget a pair of flip-flops for the family showers!!
 
A

Abby

New member
Oh, one more thing to ask about when you get there. Our hospital has a program where the nursing students volunteer to spend time with the children on the floor and it's optional for parents. We, thankfully, took them up on the offer and were assigned a very nice, thoughtful girl. She would come in and do whatever Abby wanted to do, for instance, Abby loves to have her fingers and toes painted so Rachel brought in lots of fun colors and they gave each other manicures and pedicures, she played board games with her (which we brought from home), brought her a sticker book that they worked on, etc. It gave me time to get away for a walk, shower, meal, etc. I stayed during the first 2 visits to make sure Abby and I liked her and trusted her and then broke free for the hour or so that she was there.
 
R

Ratatosk

Administrator
Staff member
When DS was hospitalized at 4 weeks, DH's cousin was a pharmacist at the local hospital and she advised us to bring our own meds. They only carried generic enzymes ??? and didn't carry adeks vitamin drops. L
 
J

jonandlindsay

New member
Amber -

You probably won't get this until you get back.... but I will definitely be thinking of you. Good luck with everything! What a great, concerned, prepared mom you are! Vinnie is a lucky little guy. Be strong.

~ Lindsay
Mom to Ella, 2-1/2 w/CF
 
A

amber682

New member
Still home! I called the doc on monday, he said we were going to be
admitted and have a bronchoscopy the next day. Well, since we live
in CT but still go to our old clinic in RI, medicaid said they
would not pay for it. After many calls back and forth to the clinic
and insurance, the clinic calls me and says its best if I just
switch to the CT cf clinic. Even though the doc thought it was
medically necessary that I don't switch until after the hospital
stay, medicaid didn't see it that way. The doc even called and
spoke to the medical director at medicaid to explain it
himself.<br>
So all records were sent over, and Vinny's doc spoke with the new
doc and explained what was going on. They called me and set up an
appt for tuesday. We went and they saw Vin and took chest x-rays.
The x-rays were clear and there are no symptoms except this cough
and wheeze. The docs at the new clinic think it sounds like its
more in his nose and throat than deep in his lungs. She said it
sounds like there's a lot of mucus in there. She gave Vinny 4
prescriptions and will see him back in one week. If he's still not
getting better, or getting worse, than we will be admitted.
I've got my fingers crossed for no hospital!<br>
BTW, all the docs, nurses, etc. at this clinic are very nice. I
don't mind that we had to switch, I just didn't want to have to do
it in the middle of treating this exacerbation. But all is well,
they are also cff accredited. What I like better is that they wear
gloves and those paper shirts (I forget what they're called) and
change them between patients. The old clinic did not wear
them and I would wonder about them going from patient to
patient, even though they washed their hands. What I don't like as
much is that Vinny will see a few different docs, not just the same
one every visit. Also, the old clinic had hand sanitizer everywhere
in those dispensers on the walls. I did not see one of those the
whole visit to the new clinic. Good thing I brought my own, we used
it a lot!<br>
Anyway, just wanted to let you know we're not at the hospital, the
new clinic seems great, and we've hopefully avoided the hospital
stay. And I got chinese food last night and my fortune in my cookie
said "A forseen danger is half-avoided"
 Weird!!    
 
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