The Emergency Room

Noah made his first trip to the emergency room last night. Yesterday he threw up 4 out 6 bottles. The entire content of his stomach, twice all over me. He also had some diarrhea. All over me. We were worried that he was getting dehydrated so we called the pediatrician's nurse on call. They instructed us to go to DCH Emergency Room. We waited two hours to be seen by the doctor, two more hours to have the tests run, and two more hours to be told he was fine and another hour to be discharged. Noah had to have another IV put in which he did not like, except to try and eat it. He was a trooper and smiled through it all. I was not such a trooper. And I am not happy to report that I complained the entire time. We waited FOREVER and they didn't really tell us anything to explain the throwing up! I really did not have a good attitude about the entire thing. I am not a fan of Tuscaloosa's hospital. I just don't think you should advertise everywhere that you are striving for 100% satisfaction and treat patients how we were treated. Now we are back home feeding Noah an ounce at a time and PediaLite and still unsure as to the cause of his illness. I like to think that I am good under pressure and in bad situations. But last night I found myself thinking about how I was covered in 7 oz of baby throw up, how long we had waited. Not my proudest moment. Just another example of how I wrestling with my own selfishness. I am just glad Noah will have no memory of his first (and I hope only) trip to the ER.