And what a morning Sam and I had. We spent the morning in the local hospital, due to the fact that the poor little fella had trouble breathing, not for the first time (it happened in London a couple of times).
As always, his troubles started with a cold. It gone on his chest (my mum will tell you, colds always got on my chest). Last night he was coughing quite badly and he woke himself up, so I gave him his inhaler a few times, it seemed to work as he slept through the night till 7 this morning... then when I got him out of bed, my goodness he was wheezing very badly.
So I gave him his inhaler even though he hates it, and it upsets him. He improved for a short while and then he started wheezing again. I had another go with his inhaler, and got the same result. As it was not the first time Sam has suffered breathing difficulties, I wasn't overly worried, but knew we had to go to the hospital for something stronger.
As always, his troubles started with a cold. It gone on his chest (my mum will tell you, colds always got on my chest). Last night he was coughing quite badly and he woke himself up, so I gave him his inhaler a few times, it seemed to work as he slept through the night till 7 this morning... then when I got him out of bed, my goodness he was wheezing very badly.
So I gave him his inhaler even though he hates it, and it upsets him. He improved for a short while and then he started wheezing again. I had another go with his inhaler, and got the same result. As it was not the first time Sam has suffered breathing difficulties, I wasn't overly worried, but knew we had to go to the hospital for something stronger.
Where was the nearest hospital? Could I just turn up? I knew I had to ring up Sam's mamma who was away on a work trip to ask her about Swedish hospitals.
It turns out the nearest one was three tube stops away, so off we went. We got there eventually (it was a good walk from the tube, and then I went to the wrong entrance, and had to be redirected to the right place), and the place was empty. Just one lady in the queue. So I joined behind the lady, a respectful distance, so I could not hear her (not that I would have understood) before being told that like the bank, the supermarket fish counter, and yes the alcohol shop, I had to take a ticket and wait before being seen. So I did that, and to be fair we were seen within 15 minutes.
It turns out the nearest one was three tube stops away, so off we went. We got there eventually (it was a good walk from the tube, and then I went to the wrong entrance, and had to be redirected to the right place), and the place was empty. Just one lady in the queue. So I joined behind the lady, a respectful distance, so I could not hear her (not that I would have understood) before being told that like the bank, the supermarket fish counter, and yes the alcohol shop, I had to take a ticket and wait before being seen. So I did that, and to be fair we were seen within 15 minutes.
Whilst I was worried about Sam, the fact that every single nurse was totally hot (and female I hasten to add) kept me entertained and they were all great with Sam. One after another apologised to me for being poor at English - none of them were anything other than brilliant, and it felt as if I should be the one apologising for not being hot or good at Swedish.
The picture on the right, is not any of the nurses (it was taken from the hospital's website) but those were the uniforms they wore, and they all had Birkenstocks on their feet, with socks. I asked one of them (Josefin who should have thought about ditching the nursing and taking up modelling) if the Birkenstocks were part of the uniform. She said they weren't. I thought better of asking why they all felt the need to team sandals with socks. Surely everyone knows that it is the ultimate fashion faux-pas, and is it more comfortable than a pair of trainers?
The picture on the right, is not any of the nurses (it was taken from the hospital's website) but those were the uniforms they wore, and they all had Birkenstocks on their feet, with socks. I asked one of them (Josefin who should have thought about ditching the nursing and taking up modelling) if the Birkenstocks were part of the uniform. She said they weren't. I thought better of asking why they all felt the need to team sandals with socks. Surely everyone knows that it is the ultimate fashion faux-pas, and is it more comfortable than a pair of trainers?
After a few hours, and Sam being given lots of inhalers, and cortisone tablets, the paediatrician decided she wanted to keep Samuel in for a few hours to observe. Whilst she was saying this, Sam was his normal energetic self, pushing around some mini stairs, a chair, kicking a balloon, and climbing on to the bed. Looking at him, the nurse decided that he couldn't be that ill, and let him go. Kicked out the hospital for being too well. That was ok with me.
The bad news is that he is probably asthmatic, and he will go back for some tests. We picked up some inhalers on the way back, which I had to pay for (I was on my way out of the chemist, when I was informed you had to pay for children's prescriptions in Sweden).
Sam fell asleep on the way home, and after a very long lunch nap, he was back to his old ways in the afternoon (albeit I kept him inside, rather than venture into the cold).
Sam fell asleep on the way home, and after a very long lunch nap, he was back to his old ways in the afternoon (albeit I kept him inside, rather than venture into the cold).
Next week, I will be inventing an illness for Sam, so I can go back and see the nurses.
Apart from the babe fest, the other good thing to come from this morning is that I now know where my nearest hospital is (until the end of October, when I have to move again, but seeing how my new place is two minutes walk to a hospital, it shouldn't be such a drama if either me or Sam need to go) and how it all works.
Nothing wrong with being asthmatic - he could overcome it and become a world beating sports star like paula radcliffe, austin healy and myself.
ReplyDeleteFrom Alan and Mary - Glad the wee guy is ok again. Glad you had some entertainment with the nurses. From my knowledge of German I would say the caption (for the nurses) has the meaning that a) they are "medical workers" and b) that they are either "advising" or "trained" ("rat" in German = "advice" ie think. No doubt I will fail (yet again) to get this accepted as a comment - so I will e-mail it as well.
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