Hey guys, how was your weekend?! Well I’ve had a rather eventful week. My angel pie turned two on Wednesday and probably had the worst birthday in history. He hardly did any celebrating, actually not even a wee bit. He wasn’t feeling well at all on his day. I had taken him to see his peadiatrician the day before and she said that he had a throat infection and mild bronchitis, but not fully developed. So she gave me the usual prescription, antibiotics, Berotec to treat the bronchitis and a nose spray. But the following day he seemed so much worse, he was hardly eating, and then I noticed that he was breathing rather uncomfortably. Later that afternoon he threw up quite a bit of mucus and that’s when I knew he wasn’t good. My husband and I rushed him to the emergency room and they gave him a nebulizer to ease him and open up his chest a bit. That really seemed to help a lot and the breathing seemed a whole lot better, but his pead. wasn’t convinced. She immediately booked us a room , and my poor baby was admitted into hospital on his birthday.
He spent his second birthday with a drip attached through his foot and tubes running through his nose to release oxygen. My husband and I have never been that shattered, seeing our child so weak and helpless is enough to make one lose their mind. I won’t lie, the moment they said he needs oxygen, a whole lot of panic set in, but then I prayed and God gave me peace and I was able to sleep through the night, well almost. That happened around two in the morning, so my husband wasn’t even around to hold me. The following day he had blood work done, x-ray done and received more antibiotics through the drip. The blood results revealed that he definitely ate something that he’s allergic to, and unfortunately my child has quite a few allergies, so it really could’ve been anything. I’m praying against the many allergies, I’m not willing to wait until he outgrows them in his teenage years. He can’t be so limited. The mucus results revealed that he picked up a virus hence the intensity of the mucus in the lungs and runny nose. The pead. says that he definitely contracted it from crèche, apparently its quite common and the rhino virus has been making it’s rounds. The x-ray showed that he had extreme tightening of the chest, which is what caused the difficulty with the breathing. So he’s had tons of antibiotics feed through a drip these past couple of days, physio work done twice a day and his favourite ( probably cause of the smoke like effect, ha ha) the nebulizer. Nurses are amazed at how still a child can be when receiving medication. I called in a dietitian to help hubby and I with his diet. I’m really hoping that’s going to be the difference maker and it will really help ease the frustration we feel sometimes concerning his dietary restrictions. More than anything, educate us and gain more knowledge on the relevant food groups.
As I type this I’m sitting on a hospital bed, waiting to be discharged tomorrow. I didn’t think I would have time to get in any form of work, but baby is really good now. It’s been a long week, I haven’t slept much at all. You really don’t sleep in hospital, not that I came here to get comfy, ha ha. I’m basically functioning on like 30% sleep, it reminds me of the first few weeks of the newborn stage. If it’s not the babies or toddlers crying and screaming ,it’s a parent pressing the emergency button for assistance and that wakes up the entire ward. And how do I forget the nurses, in and out every two to three hours . I’ve got such an active toddler, that his levels of boredom have gone through the roof. To try entertain a child in hospital has proven to be one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever had to do. The drip beeps like every 5 minutes , because it’s either being pulled, bitten,rolled over on or something, ha ha. I really can’t wait for tomorrow.
My baby is really good though, off the oxygen and his saturation is perfect. That was probably my biggest scare, seeing him so worn out from trying to breathe. I’m really thankful to God.
Just a few things I’ve learnt from being here. Firstly, health is wealth and we really need to be so mindful and thankful to God for keeping us and our children. It could’ve been worse for my child, but God, honestly but God. There are kids here battling things that will make your heart bleed. I have never seen or heard so many horror stories in my life, it’s enough to freak you out for a lifetime. I’m so thankful to God for keeping my child and for healing him. I’ve been standing on this scripture, since we’ve been here, praying for all the kids and my baby . Isaiah 65: 23 ” They will not labour in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune.”. How amazing is that scripture! I love how mindful our Father is, He has a scripture for everything. Misfortune is sickness and that is not my child’s portion in life.
Secondly, working in a hospital is truly a calling. This environment can really make one feel depressed, agitated and uneasy. Just seeing other kids, or hearing kids crying ALL the time breaks your heart. I don’t even want to talk about the worn out mothers, the one in the room next door to ours has had to be put on calming medication, cause she’s hardly coping. I’m amazed at how upbeat the nurses are all the time, they seem so unaffected by what they see. They each work twelve-hour shifts, like how crazy is that! They attend to about four patients or so each, having to remember each child’s schedule and medication. They are dealing with life and death situations, well in some cases and to have the grace to handle it with such ease is just mesmerizing.
Thirdly, love and support during tough times is everything. I’m so thankful for family and friends that reached out , prayed, called, visited and checked up on us. BUT a special mention to my in-loves that drove down from Durban just to come see the little one, I wish my heart could articulate how loved we felt yesterday. I’m still amazed by what they did! No words, just a heart filled with gratitude. And to my amazing husband, you are my rock baby. Thank you for everything my love!
Lastly, people need to feel validated and appreciated. It’s so important that you see beyond a service and see the actual human being behind the service offered. These nurses have names, I realized that they really appreciated hearing thank you and me taking the time to get to know them a bit. I understand it’s their job, but they can choose to do it grudgingly or joyfully ad at the end of the day it’s your child that will feel the heat. I’ve seen that validation and appreciation is truly the difference maker. I’ve taken time to get to know some of the staff here from kitchen, cleaning ladies and nurses. It’s been awesome listening to their stories, oftentimes I got funny stares from other parents because of this. I guess it’s not normal to be “human” anymore. You never know if that ‘s the conversation they needed to stop them from giving up. People are going through deep things and life doesn’t always play fair. I really try to apply this life lesson in every area in life, and as a result the weekend before last I saw the fruits of it. A security guard/ my carwash ninja named Bobo recognized me whilst I was driving past Parkhurst (where I used to work) . He waved hysterically, screaming ” Hi sister”,but because we were in the middle of our shoot I didn’t have time to stop and find out how he’s doing. It really warmed my heart though. I worked there a few years back and I had gotten to know him whilst I worked in that area, I just couldn’t believe he still remembered me. My father practically taught me this life lesson, I’d seen him do it everywhere and with anyone. I must say it does help to be extremely talkative as well, ha ha.
ABOUT THIS LOOK: Could you ever go wrong with a white dress, that holds you in all the right places! i won’t lie I was kinda feeling myself in this dress. It’s the kinda dress that allows you to bring out the inner diva in you. I don’t think I have to say much about this dress, it really does sell itself. I probably should’ve worn it with bold earrings, but that’s styling tip that I can give to you. With a dress like this, don’t add too much, let it do the talking and just accessorize well. Add statement heels, preferably strappy heels with a hint of PAZAZ ( as Somizi would say) like fur strip or even ombre pom poms. To tone down the look and make it more casual and slightly playful, add a pair of sneakers, a bomber jacket/ athleisure type sweater ( Adidas) or even an oversized denim jacket and complete the look with a cap and hoop earrings.
xx
LEGIT dress|
Photography by Lee Mthimkulu
