Hospitals, Hiccups and Hostels

This past weekend my sister and I flew to Florida with her kids. It was quite an adventure. I wish we had photos of us pack-muling all of the STUFF through the airport. Two car seats, two backpacks, one suitcase, one wheelchair and two babies. Craziness! 

Just a little tip for traveling with medicines and baby food and wheelchairs and infants and such: get there EARLY, I left the house at 5 AM for our 9:00 flight. Luckily, our seats each had mini TVs, so we watched a little Sport's Center (Miranda is a big fan of Hockey!) and they both slept really well on the plane. Thankfully, we were not THOSE people with the screaming babies. Miranda and I had rules, "No pooping and no crying." She held true to the deal for the flight down, not so much on the way back to Virginia.

We flew home to surprise my mom, when we pulled into the driveway, Grandma was very surprised.

She was even more surprised on Saturday when we called her from breakfast and told her we were heading to All Children's Hospital with Cailyn.

GYLC Ops training in action...

Her seizures have been getting really bad lately and even with new meds, she was really out of it on Saturday. Her Dr. in Baltimore suggested we go to the ER in St. Pete because they are affiliated with Johns Hopkins (which is our regular hospital up here) and so we went. They hooked her up to an EEG and gave her an IV. That is really about all the did to her though, with the way her seizures are, there isn't much else they can do.

 

I guess the silver lining of it is, we got to see a new Dr. and get a second opinion. He was pretty cool and seems much more aggressive with the drugs. He was fascinated by Cailyn and I guess its good to know, if we ever make it back down to Florida with the kids, we will have a good Dr. just in case.

The hospital itself was really nice. Obviously very kid friendly with a great selection of Disney movies. Except for the fact that Miranda wasn't allowed to be in the PICU with Cailyn, it was one of the more successful hospital stays I've experienced. Understandably, because she hasn't had her shots yet and hospitals are filled with germs, Miranda couldn't stay. They set us up with a room at the Ronald McDonald House so that she could still be close by to eat when she needed to. Staying at the Ronald McDonald House was an experience. I felt like I was hosteling with an infant. The concept of the house is great for families who need to stay for extended periods of time. Each room is assigned a house chore that must be done by 2:00 each day. Our room was responsible for sweeping and moping the laundry room floor. Everyone has to wash and dry their bedding and take out their trash. There are cleaning supplies stashed around the house and everyone is expected to pitch in. There are common spaces on each floor with TVs and computers and the kitchen has several refrigerators with donated food for everyone. All of the volunteers were extremely friendly and great. Even the kid at the front desk who tried to tell me about all of the fun bars and clubs near by. Sorry buddy, not tonight! The Ronald McDonald House even has a very nice playground and a grill outside. It really is a good set up for families needing to be there long term. Luckily, we were in and out.
I plan to find out how to be more involved in volunteering or donating to them, its a great cause!
By noon on Sunday, they were ready to release Cailyn and so we re-packed ALL of the stuff and headed straight back to the airport and back to Virginia.

Surprise Grandma! It was nice seeing you.