Hospital

Two and a half years ago the wife and I went to Ghana to take supplies to several orphanages there.  While we were there we found little Alimatu, an eight month old baby girl.  The eternal optimist – aka, the wife – immediately made plans to have her home in three months.   In April of this year, two years later, she finally arrived and immediately fit right in with the family. 

Two days ago Alimatu acted like she didn’t feel very well.  She wouldn’t eat and couldn’t stop vomiting.  The wife took her to the doctor, who sent her to the hospital.  She spent the night there before being sent to the children’s hospital in the capital city.  We spent the night and are still here in the hospital.  She has an irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure so they are running tests to find the cause.  The good news is she is eating and drinking again and hasn’t thrown up all day.  I’m wondering if the vomiting and lack of eating were from something different but, because of them, we have discovered the other problems.  These are likely issues she has had her entire life and, since she is more back to her normal self today, I am confident everything will work out.

To lighten the situation I have decided to make a list of the best and worst things about being in a hospital.

Top 5 Reasons to Enjoy a Hospital Stay

5.  Everyone is so helpful. At home everything is always a mess and no one wants to help clean up.  Kids are always hungry yet are helpless when it comes to anything to do with preparing a meal.  Here everyone is so happy to do the nastiest jobs just to make sure you are happy and comfortable. 

4.  Cafeteria. I just had a cheeseburger, fries and a medium Dr. Pepper for $2.70.  Enough said.

3.  People watching. Sitting in a small room all day long gets pretty boring so the baby boy(Buck Double – To be explained later) and I have been wandering the halls most of the day.  No walk of life is exempt from visits to the hospital so we get to see all kinds of people in various situations.  This place is nearly as fun as the airport when it comes to people watching.

2.  No work.  I know I’m going to pay for it when I get back, but it’s nice not to have to wake up at 3:30 in the morning to go to work.

1.  Movies on TV.  6:00.  Tonight.  Harry Potter. The Half Blood Prince.  Yes, I have the DVD at home, but what a wonderful surprise.  Besides, even a chicken sandwich is more delicious in a restaurant than at home.

Top 5 Reasons Not to Enjoy a Hospital Stay

5.  Bathrooms.  Having a bathroom in the room where people are constantly coming and going has the potential to create embarrassing situations for everyone, in so many ways (this pertains more to the wife than to me, of course, hahaha).

4.  Sleeping. This is very similar to the previous item.  It’s impossible to sleep comfortably when you are concerned about the awkward sights and sounds of a 235lb sleeping man.

3.  Leaving the kids with grandma.  As crazy as they drive me most of the time, it doesn’t take long to miss the little stinkers.

2.  The unknown.  I hate not knowing when I’m going to be able to go home and get back into my routine.

1.  Sick kids.  Nothing is worse than seeing your kids sick and feeling so helpless.  As a dad I’m supposed to be able to fix all of their boo boos and I feel bad when I can’t do so.