The Cutest CT Scan Ever.
April 13, 2008
Written by: Katie
Jillian’s CT scans were never very cute because she was so ill. Here we have little Jodi going in for her first (and hopefully last) CT of her life.
Here she is saying "Excuse me, my father, what are you doing over there? Shouldn’t you be holding my binky in my mouth or something useful like that?"
All is well again here on the peds floor. Jodi has been eating…albeit slowly…and her IV has been turned down. Her potassium and sodium are good today and Jodi is now up and alert. The plan is to keep the IV fluids down, nurse and check labs tomorrow morn. If all looks good we go home. Hoorah!! No more Panera Bread Company for me. And that news is sad.
Linkmama at Jeff’s board asked me if Jodi was ever diagnosed. Not really. We went from "Looks like a virus." to "Looks like adrenals." to "Well, she is looking better." Once again I am left with the feeling that medicine is not a science but an art.
Speaking of art…the culinary arts. It just ain’t happening here. When Jodi was first admitted Debbie stayed with me until 3am when we were all settled in. Poor woman had to listen to me blather on about the differences between PCH and here. Because I never had the pleasure of eating the food that the patients ate at PCH (we always went down to the grill and ordered something fresh) I can not compare this food to any other. It is truly in a league of it’s own. I am grateful that Children’s Miracle Network provides the meals but geesh, must EVERYTHING be from a box or a can?
This is a fruit and cheese plate (mystery cheese) with old fruit. A roll. I love potato rolls and I’m not sure how you can screw that up. Ice tea, potatoes o’brien (hmph), mixed fruit which was decent and cottage cheese (edible).
Somehow I managed to order two veggie trays. One with chicken salad (out of a bag?) and one without. But both were graced with mushy tomatoes and weird celery. The cottage cheese this time had some sort of viscous fluid it in. The berries were thawed and of course, we have our gelatin jewels which is a fancy name for jello. I like jello. And the ever present tea.
This is more like it. Two eggs, two bacon and two little bowls of unripe melon. It could be worse (see above).
This was my unfortunate lunch one day. We have the chicken "fingers", a deli sandwich (I only ever took one bite.), soup from a can and some orange sherbert that, I kid you not, had corn syrup listed THREE times in the ingredients.
I made the mistake of ordering scrambled eggs. Of course they come out of a box. Can anyone say "Gag me with a spoon."? Or maybe "Gag me with a boxed mystery egg product."
About this time I began my daily journeys to Panera Bread Company and all has been well. Jeff was giving me a hard time about eating out three meals a day. Then he stayed here a night. If a man won’t eat the food then you know it is bad. Perhaps the poor quality meals are a little ploy to get the patients out of here just as fast as can be. I’d buy that. Now that I have shared my hospital meals with you I feel like you are almost here.
I had a consult with a nutritionist for Jodi. She said that I was not eating balanced meals because we had cut our consumption of milk and grain. I told her that a cup of broth has almost as much calcium as a cup of milk and asked if she had ever heard of Weston Price. No she hadn’t but she did assure me that nutrition must be very confusing for me because it is very confusing for her and you know, she went to school. She was very sincere and not condescending at all. Very nice lady. I should have written the WAPF website down for her. :) It does seem odd though to have all that student debt and remain as confused as you were going in. Oh wait, now she gets paid to be confused.
April 13th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Praying she can return home tomorrow!! Yeah! Those meals look awefull. And she dared to complain that you weren’t eating right at home???? What they were serving the patients was disgusting!! Your meals always make my mouth water to look at them! Yummy! Although I’m still trying to find Wahini rice here in the UK.
April 13th, 2008 at 11:04 am
So glad Jodi is doing better! God bless you, I can only imagine the flashacks you must have had at the ER with another sick little one. Praise the Lord Jodi’s problem turned out so “minor”.
I’m with you on the medicine-is-an-art thing. Makes me take our families health so much more seriously, and encourages me to learn more so I can be a participant in our health care instead of a “patient”. Do you think that Jodi’s high potasium was caused by the IV? Amazing how easily the medical professionals hand out antibiotics like they are harmless substances, no wonder we have an increasing amount of drug resistant bacteria.
We recently had a very negative experience with our local ER regarding my husbands back pain, they basically kicked us out with no diagnosis and little help, they thought my dh was drug seeking. Very frustrating! We’ve since found out that my dh has nerve damage (which doesn’t respond to most pain killers) and arthritis in his back. Some doctors have no right being doctors. Grrr.
Andrea
April 13th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Oh Katie,
Hospital Food! Yes gag…
For those that are visiting anyone in the hospital, Bring Food! Pick up, cook up and bring up something. My daughter spends sometimes months when my grandson goes in. Her favorite “gifts” are food and smelly good shower gels. Not only is hospital food expensive but as you can see from Katie’s pics barely edible.
I believe doctors do not understand nutrition as they are not taught. Inform them as you can.
So happy to hear Jodi is healing (all our prayers I am sure) and you will be home soon.
Blessings, Laura
April 13th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
We were in Miami Childrens Hospital for a month. If you HAVE to be in a hospital and EAT while you’re there - that is the place to do it! The cafeteria had fabulous homemade food. The only problem was that we had to guess what each dish was because we didn’t speak Spanish. After a while, though, my hubby made friends with the ladies there and would just ask what things were.
And, when all else failed, can I just say “fried plantains”? YUMMY!
So glad your “Little Bit” is feeling better and eating better. Praise the Lord for answered prayers.
Alesha
April 13th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Okay, so I know this is serious subject matters here, but that post cracked me up anyway. Not the CT scan part, but the food part. I’m thinking most of their food has the word “product” in the name as in “cheese product”, “egg product”, etc. :) Lemme tell ya, I’d eat a meal cooked by two 12 year old Bettendorfs any day compared to that….um…stuff. You are going to have some master chefs on your hands! Hopefully they will whip up a great “welcome home Jodi” meal soon!
April 13th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Eeeeewww……That food looks positively nasty - LOL!
I’m so glad that sweet little Jodi is doing better though, and I will keep praying for her full recovery!
Are CAT scans quick? Because my DD has to be sedated for her MRI (because she has to remain completely still for 45 minutes.) Last time I wasn’t even allowed near the MRI department..I had to wait in the surgical waiting room until she was in the 2nd stage of ‘recovery.’ It’s so frustrating not to be able to be with her.
This time, a friend of ours will be her anesthesiologist but even he said that the hospital policy says that I still cannot be with her until 2nd stage recovery…. I’ve talked to 3 different doctors and they all said ‘no.’
I am NOT happy about that! :-(
I pray you get to bring that beautiful girl home soon!
Blessings,
Michelle
Ya, a CT Scan takes maybe 30 seconds once the table starts moving. MRIs are MUCH slower. Jillian had an MRI and we couldn’t go in either. I hope you figure out what is going on with little Katie-Noel. -Katie
April 13th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
OK I have a question…why would they say your diet isn’t adequate….Jodi looks far from famished….she’s everybit of baby chub! So cute.
Now there you go using logic Cecelia. Stop. We had the consult to begin with because I suggested Jodi might benefit from vitamins in her IV. What they offered was an oral liquid vitamin. But to get it we have to consult with nutrition. Because, you know, you don’t need extra vitamins if you are eating….anything. When I said that I wasn’t eating much bread or drinking much milk she said I should still be taking my prenatal. Not because Jodi is suffering but because the food pyramid says so. So I began the nod and smile routine and then asked her why they offer kids soda in the ER if it so bad for them. She said that they are trying to meet families where they are. And I said “there is no meeting them where they are. If you don’t have soda on hand they will drink water.” I got the “Well everyone is different.” response. Hmph
-Katie
April 13th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Yeah! That Jodi is doing so well. I can’t wait till you all are home safe and sound.
Yuck to almost all hospital food. I have spent more than a week and up to two months in 5 different hospitals between my two sons. Boy, that’s a mouth full. Anyway, I have actually studied hospital food (for lack of anything else to do during that part of my life) and have come to the conclusion that they are trying to chase the patients out or preserve them from loading them with preservatives?!?!? Gross! I am not sure how anyone survives it. I always loose wait and don’t have that much to spare. Atleast you are managing to get fruit and veggies that aren’t over cooked (although old).
Blessings,
Dawn
April 13th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Katie, if the docs/nutritionists out there are anything like up here then they judge by your body build and think you don’t eat. I cannot tell you how many times I was told it was MY fault I could not get pregnant because I was thin. I’m small boned…duh! I ate anything and everything but couldn’t gain a pound. I LOVE FOOD!!!
AMEN!! -Katie
Unfortunately, six years later they found out that my infertility had nothing to do with what I ate or didn’t eat. My organs were destroyed from endo. Got the pics to prove it! ;)
So, do they think those trays of food are nutritious? I bet they do! I suppose the one blessing of when I was in the hospital was that I was too sick to ever eat the hospital food or to analyze what I was eating. :O)
I did ask her “What if I wanted to keep all of my meals MSG free?” “Oh, you could do that. There are veggie trays and sides of fruit.” I didn’t bother to point out how “deficient” my diet would be then! DUH! Nevermind a nursing mother would not fair well on a diet devoid of any protein or fat. Can I say DUH again? -Katie
Glad to hear that Jodi is starting to feel better. We will keep praying that she progresses in healing! :-)
Thanks!! -Katie
April 13th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
My goodness, is that kid ever cute! Still praying for her!
And the food…well, I must say, it looks interesting! Glad you figured out how to get good food. :D
April 13th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Here’s my thought about hospital food.
First of all, anyone who’s ever eaten can swear to the fact that it’s really a study on how many ways to cook rubber tires coupled with an underground government program to relieve local landfill overpopulation. This is good for the environment, since it causes us to consume what we’d be otherwise wasting and it can then be turned to organic waste and (sort of) safely reintroduced into the wild.
What isn’t rubber is actually made of cardboard, which does actually contain a lot of fiber to help out with the aforesaid rubber situation.
I think they might actually inject some artificially flavored vitamins into the rubber and cardboard; either that or they manufacture the “nutrition information”. Corn syrup is used to mask all disagreeable flavors and raise the blood sugar, causing one to be too foggy to actually realize one is eating rubber and cardboard.
Furthermore, they make it very difficult to feed infants who are on lactose-free soft-food-only diets because they know these infants absolutely cannot digest rubber, making them unsuitable for environmental studies. But they need their continued funding, so even if you do not order the meals there will be a charge somewhere on the bill for the meal you didn’t order, couldn’t eat, and probably couldn’t even stand to smell.
And THEN their nutritionists ALWAYS try to change the way you’re eating. Not sure why. Maybe because we aren’t participating in the rubber-reclamation program?
P.S. I’m not kidding about not being able to feed the infant. Every time Jonathan did a hospital stay when he was younger we’d truck all our own food in because there was literally nothing we could feed him except jello, which made his blood sugar so wonky he’d shake like a leaf. Very pitiful.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
I am so glad Jodi is doing better, and I have to agree that even though your baby getting a CT scan is serious business, this post still cracked me up. I think we think a lot alike, and I still want to be like you when I grow up :)
April 13th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Aww… I do hope that is her last scan ever!
As to the nutritionist– really? She actually said it was confusing? That seems odd to me. But I suppose there is a difference between making meals, plans and charts and actually researching alternatives to the “norm” that you would learn in school.
April 14th, 2008 at 5:45 am
I’m so sorry to heard about your bad food experience. Not good to make a sad experience even sadder.. (is that a word?)
Pella, Iowa — their hospital earns awards for their food. =) I once delivered a baby there.. and got a Prime Rib “stork dinner”. Amazing… makes me want to go have more babies. LOL (I’ve actually had 5 babies there. Plus an RSV over night stay… all the food is awesome.)
So — if you are ever in the area… and are looking for a good meal. (Just kidding!)
I know it was good food… because even my dear husband was raving. He’s very particular about food… maybe next time he complains about mine… I’ll knock him over the head — then he’ll need a CT scan… then he’ll get all the good food he wants. Hmmm…
April 15th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Well Katie…if you would just start eating some of that stuff at HOME then you wouldn’t be a grossed out by the hospital food.
Course…you might be in the hospital more often…
Actually I think we should all feed our children as much from a box as is POSSIBLE just in case they ever end up in the hospital…you wouldn’t want them to starve.
PBBBBBBBBBBTTTTTT!!! She STUDIED nutrition and has never heard of W.A.P.??? Good grief. I wonder if they present him as a theory from a historical perspective…like in the evolution class how they talk about the people that think the world is riding on the back of a turtle…maybe that’s why she doesn’t remember. Too bad…cuz if she’d heard of him, maybe she wouldn’t be so confused.