Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Mason's Asthma Update & Nurse Ellen

Mason had his follow up appointment with his Pulmonary Dr. the end of June. He did another "blowing" test to measure his lung funtions. They improved and we were able to establish a baseline. We had to reschedule this appointment because he caught a cold, and his Dr. was curious how he did on the new meds. He did better, which was good. She wants to see Mason in another 4 months...which was to be expected. All in all-it was a great outcome.

While we were there, he had to get his picture taken with his Orca Sculpture...and he got some ice cream after his appointment. While we were waiting for his lung funtion test-I saw someone familiar, who I kind of lost track of....Nurse Ellen!
She was Mason's primary Nurse while he was in the IICU. She was the first voice I spoke too the first morning after he was born. She told me he was "very stable, a good sized baby, and had a beautiful head of red hair". She was Mason's daytime Nurse, so I saw her during the day, alot. I often joked that she would recognize her voice more than mine. She also took care of me, asking me if I was drinking lots of water, making me sit by his bedside (instead of standing), telling me to take care of myself, etc. When you have a newborn in the IICU-you sort of forget about yourself, and forget that you have just given birth. Mason was her last IICU patient-then she was diagnosed with Cancer right after he was discharged. She fought it, recovered, is in remission, and instead of being in the IICU, she now works in another department of the hospital. I just happened to see her smiling face. She remembered us right off the bat, said "I see you still have your red hair" and knew how old he was. Mason gave her a hug and we talked for a few minutes. When Mason would come back to Childrens for his Clinic Check up appointments, we would always stop by the IICU to see of there is anyone there we know. The last few times there weren't. I can't tell you how happy I was to find her again. When we got home, I told Lee that I found Nurse Ellen, and Mr. Forgetful remembered her too.

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