Kawasaki Disease: The Ali Chronicles - Pedia Unit, Monitoring

We stayed for 2 weeks at the Pediatric Unit (PA-3, if I remember right) of St. Luke's Medical Center. Compared to the other sections or rooms, the pediatric unit rooms are a bit smaller (lower rates too)and not as depressing. The cabinets are a happier bright yellow and blue and the bathroom tiles have animal designs. Nurses and doctors come in with Winnie the Pooh uniforms, Ernie (from Sesame Street), or Blues Clues - but they didn't make any impact with Ali. I suppose she was just really feeling so bad that she didn't notice much aside from the IV (Mommy, ra-move. Daddy, ra-move. Yaya, ra-move. Well, the IV did not get removed...) and the medicines and the taking of the BP and temperature, etc., etc.

While there at PA-3, we had to do a lot of monitoring to help the nurses and doctors. We had sheets upon sheets of paper (remember we were there for 2 weeks?) where we recorded in columns the following: ORAL, URINE, STOOL/EMESIS. We had to note the time, the quantity, and anything noteworthy that we wanted the doctors or nurses to know.

For urine, for example, the doctors had to make sure that Ali was not getting dehydrated. She was supposed to have a wet diaper, at least every 6 hours - and it was even weighed! At that time, she was using Huggies - which weighs 44 grams (when empty or unused) and so whatever the weight of her used diaper, we still had to subtract 44 grams everytime. Who would have thought I would weigh used or unused diapers?

Anyway - the doctors and nurses at St. Luke's took pretty good care of Ali. Even the guy who delivered Ali's food quite regularly would extend his hand, as if to pray over her. More than the wonders of medicine, I suppose it was the collective power of prayer that did it. Even my main doctor was reminding us to pray regularly - to the One and Only True Healer.

NEXT: Bible Verses for Encouragement and how prayer helped us through