Dealing With Early Childhood Illness

When my son was a little over a year old, we had a number of aggravating factors that affected him and he got a serious case of croup.  He ended up being flown by air ambulance to the children's hospital in Vancouver, since we lived in British Columbia, at that time.  www.bcchildrens.ca   My husband wasn't able to go but I went to stay in Vancouver, to be near my son; and we were there for approximately a month.  My son's illness was considered to be life-threatening, at the time.

In Vancouver, I spent most of my time with my son at the hospital.  Besides my presence there, I wanted to do everything that was within my power to help my son and to supplement the hospital care and treatment....  My mother had been a massage therapist and I massaged my son.... Whenever possible, I took him outdoors to get sunshine and fresh air....  And I happened to have some aloe vera products with me, which my mother had been selling.  www.foreverliving.com  My son had a tracheotomy tube for a little while and after it was removed, I had a doctor's permission to give my son some aloe vera juice....

A nurses' station was just across from my son's bed, for a while, and they were somewhat skeptical of my efforts, although they mostly tried to be helpful....When the tracheotomy was first done, a nurse asked me how long the doctor had said my son would need it? I told her two weeks and she laughed and said, "Ah, two weeks...four weeks...six weeks...!--It always takes longer than they say!"  But my son's tracheotomy lasted exactly two weeks, as the doctor had predicted!  Then my son was discharged shortly after....

Within a 5-minute walk from the children's hospital, as I recall, there was a beautiful park called Queen Elizabeth Park....  A frost killed some of the flowers soon after I arrived, in the fall, but it was a great place to visit and take a short break on a daily basis...!  And I was thankful to the hospital for all their care of my son....  The hospital also had beautiful grounds with some teddy bear statues and things that made it more fun for the kids....  And I was thankful to God for helping my family get through this difficult time....