be prepared

Yesterday, Monkey Man gave me a bit of a fright and we went for our first ride in an ambulance together. At the time it was serious but I have to admit the thought did cross my mind as to whether it was appropriate to take a photo of him. Decided no, it was a bit too japanese tourist. Anyway, a high temp saw him turn into a non-responsive toddler and off we went to the Childrens Hospital. When his temp was 38 and he was a bit lethargic I called Health Direct for some advice as I am a massive believer in not wasting the time of resources like GPs and hospitals. Health Direct put me through to the ambulance service based on the answers I gave to their questions and I really felt like it was all spiralling out of control and things were getting a bit melodramatic. I'm pretty sure if you listened to the recording of my 000 conversation I said the same thing. Paramedics arrived, did a few tests, his temp was now 39 and he was happy to lie there and let them poke and prod him. So unlike him. At first the paramedics said I should take him to a GP as he wasnt well but certainly didn't need hospital. I felt so silly and kept apologising for wasting their time. Next thing, Monkey Man crashed, was pretty much non-responsive so the paramedics said he was going to hospital. He sat completely still all the way there, staring into space, pale as a ghost. Very un-monkey man-like behaviour!! His temp was 40.8 by the time we got to hospital and he was a koala, wrapped around me and determined to be cuddled. All 16kg of him. Panadol was given, tests carried out and it appears nothing serious was wrong with him just a raging temperature. Once that calmed down he was happy and was soon owning the emergency room. There was a fishtank which by the way fixes everything. He coloured in - I kept that for his memory box. We were finally discharged about 9pm and he was on a steroid high, chatting away in the back seat and in awe of christmas lights on the way home. My kids go to bed at 7pm on the button so have rarely seen actual nighttime so when they do its a bit exciting for them. I'm so selfish depriving them of dark skies, stars and night air.... Anyway, today he is much much better despite not a great deal of sleep last night. All fingers, toes, eyes etc here are crossed for a better night and some sleep for all of us.

In all the panic I called my Mum and asked her to come from work. My husband was interstate, yay! I then called a friend to come and sit with the girls til Mum got here. It was approaching dinner/bath/bed time when all this happened, the most full on time of the day. I barked a few orders at my friend and ran out the door. I'm a control freak at the best of times but to walk out and leave my girls with a friend, well that was hard. I trust her completely but the organised freak in me was having a hard time accepting that someone else could handle it. And I thought all the way to hospital... 'oh no, the towels are in the machine, so there is no towels in the kids bathroom', 'oh I didn't fill the bottles up will they know how much to put in them?', 'will they know that Missy Moo likes the cheese slices but not the cheese sticks (at the moment!) and when she asks for cheese that what she means?', 'do the girls have clean PJ's in their rooms?', etc etc etc. The girls are in similar sized nappies at the moment and both packs are next to each other in the bathroom, will they know which ones are which? This is all stuff that as a Mum, I know, I don't have to memorise it, I just know. I realised that my house and the way I run things are not that easy for others to just pick up. So, in true girl guide manner, in the spirit of being prepared I've made mental notes to make some changes, labels in the linen press, labels on the nappy packs (which I did today), pre-packed nappy bags at the ready just in case. I have their blue books together and at the ready and always have my medicare card in my wallet. I usually have supplies in my handbag should I take that instead of a nappy bag, snacks, hand wipes, emergency nappies and dummies... not much in my bag is actually for me to be honest?? I already have their clothes in drawers in seasons, and outfits together in said drawers - this is more for hubby who would dress Missy Moo in the weirdest combinations. And I must get a whiteboard so I can scribble notes for anyone stepping in. I'm sure there are some other things I can do to help anyone that may need to step in. With 3 kids I dare say that won't be our last trip to hospital or the last in an ambulance, although I'll be very happy if the next are a long way away.