Princess Pea and the Flu

Our daily lives are fairly drama-free and I'm glad about that. But, that doesn't mean we're immune. On Thursday, August 2nd, Addison woke up at 6:30 a.m. and began vomiting. I wasn't worried. She's had a couple of bouts of illness that started like this and lasted just a few hours. We came out to the living room where I offered Addy dry toast and water. It all came back up. The poor little thing. She hates to throw up, to the point where she'll choke it back down. Ew, I know. Addison calls vomiting "spill". Not sure where this came from, but it's what she says. "Mommy, spill! Spill!" This is the warning I'm given to get the bucket under her little head. We sat on the couch watching videos and periodically trying more toast or water. Nothing was staying down. She feel asleep and I thought she would feel better when she woke. No dice. Addison still couldn't keep anything down. It was after lunch and I was starting to feel concerned. Addison hadn't had any fluids since the night before and she was running a low-grade fever.

Around 3 p.m. I started phoning friends for advice. If we were in the U.S., I'd just run down to the drug store and pick up some Pedialyte. But, I had no idea if there is a product like that here. My friend Sarah, from Polar Bear Club, gave me a lesson in health care. Most Japanese do not treat themselves with over-the-counter medications because those costs are not covered by the government insurance. If the patient receives a prescription from the doctor, some or all of the cost will be paid for by the government. Sarah suggested that we go to our local pediatrician. Sarah's pediatrician sometimes administers IV fluids to children in the office. I knew from a previous experience that my local pediatrician doesn't speak any English. I grabbed my dictionary, dressed Addy in clean clothes, and headed out. It was my only option and I was feeling very nervous.

I bumbled through my visit with the doctor. Our local pediatrician doesn't administer IV fluids in his office. Instead, he told me to take a taxi to the hospital "immediately". Ok, nothing scares a worried mother more than the urgency of the word "immediately". I called Ian at work and updated him and then walked to the main street and hailed a taxi. To add to my anxiety I was scared I was going to have to give the driver directions to the hospital. Thank God, it's a large hospital and he knew where I wanted to go.

The waiting room was filled with at least 30 people. Some were sitting in the waiting room hooked up to IV's. I gave the receptionist my paperwork from the pediatrician and took Addison to sit down. She fell back asleep as soon as I laid her on the bench. I don't remember how long we waited before they called us back. The nurses were kind, but didn't speak any English. They asked me to wait outside the curtained area while they put the IV in Addy. That had me really nervous! But, poor little Pea was so out of it, she didn't make a sound. It was about 5:30 at that point. The nurses directed me to sit back in the waiting room until the IV was empty. It was around 6 p.m. when Ian arrived at the hospital. Addy was sleeping on a bench with the IV in her hand. We took turns getting a bit to eat and I got to call Sarah and update and thank her.



The previous three pictures were taken with my cell phone, so they aren't the greatest, but you can see that Addison eventually came around. Ian had stopped at home and brought some of Addy's creature comforts. We weren't allowed to leave until she urinated. Then we had to wait for the results of the urinalysis. A nice, young doctor came to tell us it was ok to leave and she spoke English. We were so grateful for that. The most traumatic part of the hospital visit came at the end for Addison. The removal of the IV brought screams and tears. There was a lot of tape around her little arm and hand.

The next day Addison still wasn't quite herself, but she was definitely better. Prayerfully, that's our first and last trip to the hospital!