Category: Katoomba Hospital

The girls left intensive care but had to go to Katoomba Hopsital.

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3 years and beyond Katoomba Hospital

In the wars

Lately the girls have been in the wars. Yesterday, Lillian ran at high speed into a trolley at Woolies and hurt her arm.  The time before that Lillian dropped a can on her toe in the same shop, now her toe nail is black and I am waiting on the nail to fall off. Also yesterday Julia fell over on the travelator and managed to get that organised with help of a lady behind me. I was shopping with just me and the girls. The trolley went sideways; Julia fell over and could not get up without help. She was so upset, and then Lillian was upset due to Julia being upset. The lovely lady behind me grabbed Lillian and I managed to get to Julia and saved her and the trolley just scraped on the side of the travelator until we exited.

Today while I was putting washing on the line, daddy was in the kitchen there was an incident.  I heard screams that I needed to come in as there was a problem. I raced in with high speed, worried about what had happened. I come in to see Julia on the kitchen bench with blood all over her face and her screaming and crying. I was not sure what had happened. At first look the gash over her eye looked really bad. We cleaned it up and it was not too bad or good either. Daddy did not want to go to the doctors at the hospital, however as a very worried mummy I insisted.

Before going I eventually found out what had happened. Julia was on daddy’s work chair in the study and tried to get off. She must have slipped and she went head first into the wood floor. Upon arriving at the hospital we were quick to get into to see the triage nurse. While there we met the emergency doctor and she assured us that it was fine, although had to wait until it was our turn to see her again, so off we went to the waiting room.

I only took Julia with me and she really did not want to go to the doctors, and thought it best to deal with one child and have Lillian spend time with daddy. While seeing the triage nurse she asked Julia some questions that would indicate if she was fine brain wise. She was, she answered who she was with successfully and some other questions. So that was a good thing. I was there at the hospital to make sure she was fine for one thing, and to make sure that the gash would heal o.k., it was deep but not really deep enough for stitches.

Finally we got to see the doctor again and she was great. She was telling Julia stories and asked why the dinosaur hurt her head, the doctor said that she sees these injuries a lot and the dinosaurs are naughty. Julia told the doctor that it was not the dinosaur that she fell off daddy’s chair, no dinosaur. Oh well, the doctor was trying and that was great, it made the whole situation much better for Julia. She was and still is very sensitive to what happened, she cries and gets very upset if it is mentioned or that she thinks about it.

Julia was brave and let the nurse and doctor put the special bandages on that draws the skin together to heal, she told Julia that they were dinosaur bandages. Now the challenge is that the bandage cannot get wet or dirty for 3-4 days. So sponge baths until then, this will be interesting. This time is important for the skin to heal or at least start joining up again.  We were not sure and tried to give her some gas to calm down, however she did not want to put the mask on or have anything to do with it so we went without it. I was very happy that she was a brave little girl, it must have hurt and glad that she is going to be o.k.

I am so exhausted and depleted after today. It has been very emotional. I just thought the worse when I saw the blood and saw her screaming and the tears. It was a terrible moment. I am sure that other parents have felt the same. I have also to think that this will not be the end of these scrapes. As active kids I am sure that there will be more. I just hope that they don’t hurt themselves too badly. It is hard enough when they just have a little bump.

Lillian according to daddy was a mess without Julia. She was worried and was screaming and crying while we were at the hospital. She was very concerned and worried about her sister. She did eventually calm down which was good. Daddy got her to play with some of my things which I was not happy about but understood that it calmed her down. While at the hospital, daddy and Lillian changed the batteries in the fire alarm and baked some scones.

This also makes me think that the girls need to be taken individually for things/tasks and outings more. Mummy or daddy takes one or the other and does something, spending time with that child only, for one on one time. The girls don’t take to being separated at all, although today was very upsetting, it was a good thing that Lilly spent time with daddy and I took Julia. It gives each child some quality time with each parent, will need to work on this more in the future.

If you have twins or multiples how do you handle doing something with one child, while the other parent takes the other? Do they freak out? How do you as a parent handle it when you kid/kids are in the wars?

Categories
3 years and beyond Katoomba Hospital Swimming lessons

The extreme cost of activities for kids

Why is it that extra activities for kids are so expensive, swimming, tumbling, gym, dancing and much more. I would like to have the girls continue with their swimming lessons and also to be able to do tumbling lessons. This is not going to happen due to the cost.  Just to give you an example of the cost:

  • Swimming lessons for 10 weeks ( a school term) – $140
  • Tumbling lessons for 10 weeks ( a school term) –  $125 plus $32.50 annual gymnastic NSW membership fee

The price above for each activity is for 1 child. So as I have 2 children, I would need to double it. So the costs would be:

  • Swimming lessons for 10 weeks ( a school term) – $280.00
  • Tumbling lessons for 10 weeks ( a school term) –  $315.00

My question is, how does the average family give their children exposure to these sort of activities? With the girls going to pre-school 3 days per week, there is no way we will be able to cough up extra money for anything else. Last year we were able to give the girls about 3 sets of swimming lessons, but I don’t think that will happen this year.

Lillian turns her left foot in a bit when she walks and trips over more, especially when she is tried. Nothing that strengthening the ankle or more sports would help. To do the sports and training you have to pay. I cannot just put one child into sport, I would like to put both in for the experience as well. The physiotherapist at Katoomba Hospital said tumbling classes would really help Lillian, but how do I do this when they are so expensive.

One of my other questions is why is the council pool charging so much to teach kids and babies to swim. This is a skill that can save your life, swimming is essential in Australia as we are surrounded by water and nearly everyone has a pool, goes to the pool or the beach. I believe that swimming allows you to have the ability to exercise, be safe and to participate in a great lifestyle.  Why does the council charge so much? Why cannot the fee be a token to the centre, say $20 or $50 for swimming for your children to learn. It should not be $280 to teach your kids to swim for only 10 weeks. Then after the first 10 weeks you have to pay it all again. How many school terms are there in Australia, well there is 4 terms per year. So that would mean that I would need to pay Katoomba Pool, $1120.00 for a year of tutuion for swimming lessons.

Learning to swim should be free or nearly free. From my conversations in the Blue Mountains, NSW, there are a lot of people and kids that don’t know how to swim. What happens when these kids go to their swimming carnival at school? Is it then the schools job to teach kids to swim? Do schools have a learn to swim programme? I am not sure and have not found out, so if someone knows please let me know.

I grew up in North Queensland, Hervey Bay to be precise and I swam at a young age. We were close to a beach at all times, always on a boat and had to swim.  I think everyone has a right to save their lives and others by knowing how to swim. I love swimming and really enjoy it, I cannot imagine not knowing how.

So this year, I think we will take the kids swimming ourselves and teach them swimming techniques. We also cannot take them to tumbling classes no matter how much I would hope to do it. Julia and Lillian’s balance and ability are so great, that I would like to build on it, and have them do something active that is also healthy. For a society that is worried about weight gain, overweight and obese kids they are definitely not doing anything to help families with easily accessible activities.

Why is it now a matter of how much money you have, if you can learn to swim or not. Money is not the issue, it is making sure that the government/council makes this available at all levels. Learning to swim is something everyone needs to know how to do, rich or poor.

Do you have the same concerns over costs for children’s activities? Do we need to get like minded people together to see if we can lower costs? Should we have an online petition for the council to do something about this? Let me know your thoughts.

Categories
Katoomba Hospital

Lillian’s hospital stay

Lillian had a very bad fever all weekend , 27th and the 28th of March.  It was not getting better. We were giving her Nurofen and it was not making a difference, you are supposed to give Nurofen every 6-8 hours. However she seemed to want and need more every 2-3 hours. So I hugged her and consoled her and she slept, however she was burning up and just so hot and not herself. During this period she did not eat and was off her food completely.

As it was not getting better I decided to go the hospital on the Sunday after lunch. I thought that they would say she was teething and that she was o.k. and to go home and to give her more painkillers and just do what we were doing.  When I got to the hospital, mentioned to the nurse that she has been like this all weekend, off her food and just all over the place.

We then waited to see the triage nurse. The triage nurse took Lillian’s temperature and it was 39.7, at home it was 39.5 and that is what made me take her to Katoomba Hospital. They then gave Lillian panadol and we went back to the waiting room to wait to see the doctor. We waited for hours, afternoon turned into evening and then finally we went to a room to wait for the doctor.

We saw a nurse before we saw the doctor and even then the doctor took hours and hours, so it was about 10pm before we saw the doctor. The nurse took Lillian’s temperature again and it was still in the 39 degree area. It was not going down. At 8pm we were given Nurofen and the nurse decided to put a bag on Lillian to capture her urine to see if it would show why she is so ill.

I explained that  months back that their paediatrician wanted to collect urine and we had no luck. He thought they were under weight and said that they were in the bottom third percentile (all based on the graph in the blue book), I did not see an issue and they were hitting all their milestones and doing things that some singletons are not doing. However everyone develops at different rates and I was not concerned. This doctor thought that as they were underweight there might be a reason for it, like a food intolerance or having CF, but glad that the girls don’t have a food intolerance or CF.

 So mentioned to the nurse that if we were to get any urine that I would like to make sure that she is o.k. as we were not successful in the past to get any. She agreed that it would be good to check. 10pm came and the doctor came in to look at Lillian. I was so tired and just wanted to fall asleep, however Lillian was active and playing with all the toys in the room.

The doctor found that the throat, ears were o.k., however the left one was a little red. He could not tell if that was just due to the fever or if it was an infection. Then was telling me that it was all viral or the beginning of a middle ear infection and if Lillian had a fever on Tuesday to come back. He also mentioned that we might need antibiotics. I asked if he could prescribe these now and if we needed them I could then go to the chemist to fill it but he would not. I told him that I have another baby at home and it is difficult and especially if they are sick to have to go to doctors to get a prescription when I get one now. So he concluded that she might have gotten through the worst and it is just a virile thing and it will past, if it is the ear infection just come back and get the prescription from him. So we were going home. Doctor left and we were packing up.

I thought that if we were off home it might pay to do all the terrible things that will disturb Lillian at the hospital so that we can just go to bed when we get home.  I was changing her nappy and noticed that we had been lucky to collect urine in the bag that the nurse had attached earlier in the night. The doctor told me to throw it in the bin and not to worry about it. I wanted to have it tested as we had it and thought it might help on making her better. The nurse took the urine and did the PH test. It came back saying that it was high in nitrates and in white blood cells.

We were not going anywhere, they now needed to get blood to check if there was a high amount of white blood cells there as well. This was pointing to a Urinary Tract Infection. This is dangerous if left untreated. Can cause kidney damage and make children/babies go off their food and have high fevers.

Lillian had to have the pads put on her where they wanted to take blood as it numbs the area and makes it easier to take blood. As she is a strong little girl it took 2 nurses, a doctor and me to hold her down to get blood. The doctor was taking ages to get blood and tried in one arm and it was just terrible to watch and see Lillian scream.  Since they noticed the veins on the left hand on the back were good,  they decided to put a canella in the back of her left hand in case the blood came back with the same type of results as the urine. 

Blood turned out have a very high count of white blood cells so Lillian was given a room in the children’s ward. She was hooked up to a drip to get fluids and to have antibiotics given intravenously. It was hard, she wanted to go walking everywhere, but she could not as she was hooked up to the drip. Every time anyone came in the room to even just check temperature or anything else she would scream.

I had to wait while she settled in and then had to leave as I could not contact James my husband.  As I had Julia at home, I was not sure if James needed to go to work on Monday or if I needed to come back and get her and take her with me to the hospital. They mentioned that she could stay with me there as well. James was lucky that he could take some time off work and he looked after Julia. However as a contractor if you don’t go to work, you don’t get paid. But it was important that he was there and that was the priority.

I went back to the hospital and Lillian did not know that I was gone, she was so tried.  I spent the next 3 nights with her and only missed a couple of hours.  Julia was pinning for her sister while she was in hospital. She kept on walking around the house yelling “sister”, and she looked lost. When she came to visit us at the hospital she hugged and kissed Lillian and this has never happened before. However they have never been apart until now. So they obviously felt lost and lonely alone.

It is just so interesting to see the connection between the girls. Twins really do share a connection that I can never understand, and it is very special. Near the end they took her off the drip and let her walk around the ward. This was good but could have turned out to be a disaster. Lillian nearly walked in on a birth. The doctors were putting on their gowns and she was off running and talking. I just grabbed her and walked away very fast before they could ask me who I was and why I was there.

Lillian took to the play area like a fish to water. When you are stuck in a room without toys you can understand the joy it gave to her. She saw some plastic balls and got the plastic golfing clubs and was batting them around the room. She enjoyed them so much that I took them back to our room.

Lillian is much better now and back to her giggly, smiley self. I am so glad that I took her to the hospital and that they gave her the antibiotics. I am even more grateful to the nurse that put the bag on to capture the urine as the doctor did not think it was necessary. I also don’t know why the ultrasound that they said they were going to do was not done. They normally check the kidneys to make sure that they have not been damaged. It would have been a quick test, however the doctor on duty said it was not needed. Also the doctor that was on duty on the day we left hosptial said that they don’t investigate a first issue with a UTI.

Again just so happy that we went to the hospital and that we had a nurse who did the right test to fix my little girl.  Thank you lovely nurse, I don’t know your name and just so happy as it could have been worse.

Categories
Katoomba Hospital Uncategorised

Lillian's hospital stay

Lillian had a very bad fever all weekend , 27th and the 28th of March.  It was not getting better. We were giving her Nurofen and it was not making a difference, you are supposed to give Nurofen every 6-8 hours. However she seemed to want and need more every 2-3 hours. So I hugged her and consoled her and she slept, however she was burning up and just so hot and not herself. During this period she did not eat and was off her food completely.

As it was not getting better I decided to go the hospital on the Sunday after lunch. I thought that they would say she was teething and that she was o.k. and to go home and to give her more painkillers and just do what we were doing.  When I got to the hospital, mentioned to the nurse that she has been like this all weekend, off her food and just all over the place.

We then waited to see the triage nurse. The triage nurse took Lillian’s temperature and it was 39.7, at home it was 39.5 and that is what made me take her to Katoomba Hospital. They then gave Lillian panadol and we went back to the waiting room to wait to see the doctor. We waited for hours, afternoon turned into evening and then finally we went to a room to wait for the doctor.

We saw a nurse before we saw the doctor and even then the doctor took hours and hours, so it was about 10pm before we saw the doctor. The nurse took Lillian’s temperature again and it was still in the 39 degree area. It was not going down. At 8pm we were given Nurofen and the nurse decided to put a bag on Lillian to capture her urine to see if it would show why she is so ill.

I explained that  months back that their paediatrician wanted to collect urine and we had no luck. He thought they were under weight and said that they were in the bottom third percentile (all based on the graph in the blue book), I did not see an issue and they were hitting all their milestones and doing things that some singletons are not doing. However everyone develops at different rates and I was not concerned. This doctor thought that as they were underweight there might be a reason for it, like a food intolerance or having CF, but glad that the girls don’t have a food intolerance or CF.

 So mentioned to the nurse that if we were to get any urine that I would like to make sure that she is o.k. as we were not successful in the past to get any. She agreed that it would be good to check. 10pm came and the doctor came in to look at Lillian. I was so tired and just wanted to fall asleep, however Lillian was active and playing with all the toys in the room.

The doctor found that the throat, ears were o.k., however the left one was a little red. He could not tell if that was just due to the fever or if it was an infection. Then was telling me that it was all viral or the beginning of a middle ear infection and if Lillian had a fever on Tuesday to come back. He also mentioned that we might need antibiotics. I asked if he could prescribe these now and if we needed them I could then go to the chemist to fill it but he would not. I told him that I have another baby at home and it is difficult and especially if they are sick to have to go to doctors to get a prescription when I get one now. So he concluded that she might have gotten through the worst and it is just a virile thing and it will past, if it is the ear infection just come back and get the prescription from him. So we were going home. Doctor left and we were packing up.

I thought that if we were off home it might pay to do all the terrible things that will disturb Lillian at the hospital so that we can just go to bed when we get home.  I was changing her nappy and noticed that we had been lucky to collect urine in the bag that the nurse had attached earlier in the night. The doctor told me to throw it in the bin and not to worry about it. I wanted to have it tested as we had it and thought it might help on making her better. The nurse took the urine and did the PH test. It came back saying that it was high in nitrates and in white blood cells.

We were not going anywhere, they now needed to get blood to check if there was a high amount of white blood cells there as well. This was pointing to a Urinary Tract Infection. This is dangerous if left untreated. Can cause kidney damage and make children/babies go off their food and have high fevers.

Lillian had to have the pads put on her where they wanted to take blood as it numbs the area and makes it easier to take blood. As she is a strong little girl it took 2 nurses, a doctor and me to hold her down to get blood. The doctor was taking ages to get blood and tried in one arm and it was just terrible to watch and see Lillian scream.  Since they noticed the veins on the left hand on the back were good,  they decided to put a canella in the back of her left hand in case the blood came back with the same type of results as the urine. 

Blood turned out have a very high count of white blood cells so Lillian was given a room in the children’s ward. She was hooked up to a drip to get fluids and to have antibiotics given intravenously. It was hard, she wanted to go walking everywhere, but she could not as she was hooked up to the drip. Every time anyone came in the room to even just check temperature or anything else she would scream.

I had to wait while she settled in and then had to leave as I could not contact James my husband.  As I had Julia at home, I was not sure if James needed to go to work on Monday or if I needed to come back and get her and take her with me to the hospital. They mentioned that she could stay with me there as well. James was lucky that he could take some time off work and he looked after Julia. However as a contractor if you don’t go to work, you don’t get paid. But it was important that he was there and that was the priority.

I went back to the hospital and Lillian did not know that I was gone, she was so tried.  I spent the next 3 nights with her and only missed a couple of hours.  Julia was pinning for her sister while she was in hospital. She kept on walking around the house yelling “sister”, and she looked lost. When she came to visit us at the hospital she hugged and kissed Lillian and this has never happened before. However they have never been apart until now. So they obviously felt lost and lonely alone.

It is just so interesting to see the connection between the girls. Twins really do share a connection that I can never understand, and it is very special. Near the end they took her off the drip and let her walk around the ward. This was good but could have turned out to be a disaster. Lillian nearly walked in on a birth. The doctors were putting on their gowns and she was off running and talking. I just grabbed her and walked away very fast before they could ask me who I was and why I was there.

Lillian took to the play area like a fish to water. When you are stuck in a room without toys you can understand the joy it gave to her. She saw some plastic balls and got the plastic golfing clubs and was batting them around the room. She enjoyed them so much that I took them back to our room.

Lillian is much better now and back to her giggly, smiley self. I am so glad that I took her to the hospital and that they gave her the antibiotics. I am even more grateful to the nurse that put the bag on to capture the urine as the doctor did not think it was necessary. I also don’t know why the ultrasound that they said they were going to do was not done. They normally check the kidneys to make sure that they have not been damaged. It would have been a quick test, however the doctor on duty said it was not needed. Also the doctor that was on duty on the day we left hosptial said that they don’t investigate a first issue with a UTI.

Again just so happy that we went to the hospital and that we had a nurse who did the right test to fix my little girl.  Thank you lovely nurse, I don’t know your name and just so happy as it could have been worse.