Yesterday was "the big day." My Anthropology class was going to NYC to the American Museum of Natural History, and then Lance, Michael and I would head down to Ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty.

During our drive up to NYC, Michael needed a nebulizer treatment, so we plugged his nebulizer right into the cigarette lighter! I love technology. About 2 hours later, he needed another, he was loaded with mucous and then began complaining of a headache.

Once we were over the GW Bridge, we never heard another word of complaint. All was well in the Big Apple! We had to get to 81st and Central Park West. I was coming east on 80th, just crossing Columbus Ave when Michael tells me he has to throw up! Jeez, we're just about around the corner...

Anyway, Michael spent the next 4 hours vomiting and having diarhea, in Central Park as well as in the museum bathroom. Lance had brought his cellphone, so he stayed with Michael while I went to look for my classmates. I never found anyone. Finally, Lance called to tell me that Michael needed medicine and I'd have to find a drugstore (yeah, right!). He'd already thrown up the other medicine, so why bother?

We were now 3 hours into this; 2 hours in the museum bathroom, time to call his pediatrician and see if he'll authorize an ambulance and ER visit. He did. Security called the EMTs and I miraculously located a professor from my university. He stayed with me as Lance brought Michael out to the front steps to await the ambulance. That's when I saw that Michael was pale and his lips were BLUE! He was shaking terribly (to be expected) and was having problems breathing.

Finally in the ambulance, they administered oxygen and tried to start an IV to replace all the fluids he'd been losing. But he got sick again and was fighting the IV. By the time we all arrived at the hospital, he was pink again, but still lethargic and shaking.

We had arrived at the museum at 11:30, entered it at 12:30 and were transported to the ER around 3 PM. So much for my class trip!

Finally, around 4 PM, he was feeling better. Then he had an asthma attack, so they began treating him for that... 3 2-med treatments, back to back (takes about 45-50 minutes all told). He refused to sit there that long! Now I knew he was back to his old self. Doc told him that if he expected to get "downtown" today, he better take ALL the treatments. Then she gave him an oral steroid in a teaspoon of applesauce. He'd already been sipping flat gingerale for several hours, so he was finally getting better. He held down the steroid and applesauce and we were finally released from the ER at 7 PM.

We did get a lot of digital pics, tho. Michael in NYC (ER)... when he jumped off the gurney and began trying to figure out how the hospital bed worked, I knew he'd be all right. He was nebulizing while doing this, so it made for a GREAT picture.

What a day! As you probably already read in my other post, Michael did get to Ground Zero as well as seeing Times Square, Broadway, the Empire State Building and, of course, Lady Liberty all lit up!

We didn't get home til 2:30 AM and didn't get to bed til after 3 AM. He and Lance stayed home today, I went to class. He's doing better and will be followed-up at 7 tonight by his own pediatrician. He'll be staying on steroids for at least 4 days. If the doc decides to hospitalize, I'll feel a lot more comfortable, especially since it's already been 8 months since his last hospitalization and he seems to go in cycles.

Terrie

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 1 times, lastly by BuffaloGal on Oct 07, 2002 ---</FONT></center>

Oh wow, sorry to hear about your son! Hope he is doing better. Sounds like you had an interesting trip! <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/peace.gif" width=16 height=16>

Michael Update:

Michael was just examined by his own pediatrician here in Reading and he's FINE! No steroids, no major food restrictions, no every 2-hour breathing treatments.

He feels what Michael had was (beside his NORMAL asthma) was either food poisoning (he'd eaten a hotdog on the way to NYC) or a short-term stomach virus. He LAUGHED when Lance told him we thought it was all the gum he'd been swallowing.

I just wish he hadn't laughed in front of Michael. I still think that gum has no place in the stomach.

Whew.. am I relieved! That poor kid.. and I thought he'd be on steroids again, as the doc in the hospital prescribed.

Terrie

wow, and I thought I had it hard driving a semi-truck into Manhatten, you lady, deserve an award for courage, Glad it turned out good and memories will last a lifetime.

wow, what a trip! glad michael is going to be okay!

Glad he's doing better... <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/peace.gif" width=16 height=16>

A memorable visit indeed! Isn't it wonderful how kids bounce back--Moms need a little more time, tho! <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15>

well i'm glad michael is okay, and you 'survived' your trip into new york, but I don't understand why everyone is so nervous driving around here... whenever I drive in/through the city, I have no problems negotiating the traffic, trucks, cabs, busses, except when it comes to those cars with the out of state plates that insist on making right turns on red lights, or stopping whenever a pedestrian begins to jaywalk... those are the ones causing the problems here!! The only drivers that worry me are the ones up in beantown! now THERE are crazy drivers!!!
I recently changed office location, and find myself taking advantage of the decent weather to walk to work from the train station... if you want a harrowing experience, try walking the sidewalks during 'rush' hour!!! The people in the cars are the sane ones...

It's all in what you're most used to. I have yet to drive in Mahattan, after driving for thirty-five years and living 50 miles from the city. Bob loves it. My mother never minded it, although she stopped driving into the city when she turned 80. I'll drive around it any which way and have driven through all the other boroughs but if I'm going into Manhattan solo, I take the train. I don't mind walking anywhere in any kind of crowd on the streets of the city though. It's still better than when I was a kid and got dragged downtown all the time and could only see a crowd of butts from my height then. However, when jogging first started to be a thing, I found walking in the area of Washington Square Park on a Sunday morning a near impossibilty.

I'm glad you got to do some stuff despite it all and I hope Michael is feeling a lot better now.

Theres some state I have driven in, might be Ohio where if you are stopped waiting on traffic & the driver beind you is too impatient, they will honk their horn at ya expecting ya to go even tho if ya pulled out you'd end up in a wreck. Yikes! They don't care about safety, they just can't wait to go LOL!