Subject: Hospitals have good toys!
February 4, 1999

Hello to my family and friends!

I am home and everything is much better now, but I spent the last 3 1/2 days in Huntington Hospital! They have great toys, but everyone wears masks and I was so glad that mom or dad was always there so I had somebody to be with me and empathize with how icky it was!!!

My mom and dad took me to emergency at the pediatricians recommendation on Sunday morning at 6:30 am. I had an ear infection on Wednesday, but my breathing and coughing and weezing just kept getting worse. On Saturday night I was waking up every two hours with a bad cough and weeze. Finally I was panting and hadn't peed or eaten in ten hours and mom said enough, We didn't know what was going on, but it wasn't good. Mom called the peditrician who listened to me over the p[hone and said to go toemergency.

They were really helpful there, put me on breathing treatments right away (mist and steroids and albuterol for wheezing) My respirations were at 78 per minute and normal is 40-45. We were all worried, but at least we were int he right place and they were watching us carefully. So everybody relaxed.

The hospital's pediatrician came down and said that my breathing was still too rapid after 3 hours of treatment, so they decided to admit me. They were also worried about my dehydration since I still wasn;t eating. Mom got to ride in a wheelchair while she held me and we went up to my room.

It was big and sunny with a view of the snow on Mount Blady, the crib was big and there was a chair/bed for mom or dad. I wasn't paying much attention though, because they put in an iv for fluids. Mom said that she couldn't make it stop hurting, but that Ididn't have to do it alone, that she or dad were always going to be there. When they got the iv in ( it was hard cause my fluids were so low they finally found one in my foot), my mom and dad clapped so I knew it was all over and then I could relax. I really wanted to get that thing off my foot. but I finally got used to it.

Then they put me on oxygen, but I kept pulling off the nose thing, so we only had that some of the time. It was frustrating becasue i had just learned to crawl and was pulling up on things, and now I had to lie still. I was mad. But at least I got held a lot and watched Teletubbies and read a lot of books.

The nurses were really nice to me even if they did suction out my nose all the time. They wore mask too, but they told me how cute I was and what a good girl.

So my breathing got better. (my bronchial tubes are so small that the secretions couldn't get out and I was getting a barrel chest from all the gooo inside) I also got help getting stuff out of my lungs with deep suction and breathing treatments. So everyday was better and by Wednesdsay, they took out my iv and no more oxygen. I was standing up in the crib and playing with my piano and a xylephone they had. I learned that if you bang on the crib bars it makes a really neat noise.

So now we are home and I had a pretty good night last night, woke every two hours. But my breathingis better and I am so so sos ososososososo happy to be home.

Mom went into work todya while dad stayed home for a little while and there is a package from my Grandmother Mary!! I think its my quilt, so tonight I get to open it, Hurrah hurrah, my brother ben helped.

I love you all and I am lonely so I have been talking to people on the phone . I had to get a toy phone because I kept trying to get the phone now to talk to people. Aunt Deborah and Aunt Mary Katherine came to see me in the Hospital and made me laugh, It was so good to see familiar face.

The docotr told mom it is a month or so of recuperation, so I will be going slowly but getting better everyday!

Love and hugs. if you were here I would cough and then pull my self up on your pant leg.

Emily

P.S. I didn't get in touch with people while we were in the hospital becuase frankly it was a w whilrlwind of treatments and almost no sleeping for anyone. It seemed that Emily's condition was serious, but not dangerous.She was released at noon on Wednesday, and so this note will give you an idea of where we are, besides trying to catch up with our sleep and getting food in thehouse. Love Elizabeth.