In keeping with the rampant bad luck that has overtaken our household, Violet spent last Saturday night and most of Sunday in the hospital. It was her first bout with diarrhea and apparently she did not deal with it very well. Daddy did not deal with it well either and kept trying to get her to eat. No amount of intestinal distress prevents Aaron Crabtree from eating, but Violet needed a rest. The doctors put her on total bowel rest and ordered an IV. It took 3 different nurses and four people (including Aaron and myself) to hold Violet down for the needle. She screamed her little heart out, giving everyone an earful of her favorite word, “NO!” In the end, they had to put the IV in her foot, because her little hands just couldn’t support a needle and her forearm was precarious, what with all the struggling she did. This was not such a big deal until the next afternoon when she was bored out of her mind and couldn’t go have a look around without someone carrying her. Violet likes her walks. The accommodations at the Children’s Hospital were nothing like the luxurious private room I enjoyed after delivering Violet. We had a roommate and our side of the room was just barely big enough for ONE fold out chair/bed. Aaron tried to sleep in the upright chair, but every time he breathed it let out a loud creak. Violet’s bed was no better. She had to sleep in an enormous steel crib (it might as well have been built for a pro wrestling cage match). Thank goodness she was so exhausted from all the fighting, otherwise she never would have gone to sleep. Violet does not do cribs. On the upside, every time the nurses came in to do a check-up, they would whisper to each other about how pretty Violet was. I will say this about Children’s Hospital, the employees never let on if they are burnt out. There is a smile for every kid. When Violet was finally able to eat, she devoured a plate of plain white rice. During her feast, the Easter Bunny came into our room and offered Violet a little stuffed bunny. Violet was completely indifferent to the big white rabbit and continued to spill rice all over herself as if no one had entered the room at all. Aaron and I found it very amusing, but we were delirious by then.
