I Don't Ever Want to See You Again

Photo 128262054 © Amnat Boonjaem - Dreamstime.com

Thank you, 911 dispatcher, for answering my husband's call and for quickly dispatching an ambulance.

Thank you, ambulance driver, for arriving so quickly at my house.

Thank you, paramedics, for assessing my son, asking good questions, and giving him medication to try to stop his seizure.

I don't ever want to see you again.

Thank you, ER team, for being ready for us when we arrived.

Thank you, ER pediatrician, for leading the team, for including me as part of the team, and for effectively communicating medication orders to the team.

Thank you, ER nurses, for placing an IV (and then another) and for administering medication after medication to—this time—successfully stop the seizure.

I don't ever want to see you again.

Thank you, critical care transport team, for carefully gathering medical information about my son from the ER team and first-hand.

Thank you, critical care transport nurses, for answering my questions about rescue anti-seizure meds used at home and respiratory support to be used during transport.

Thank you, critical care transport team, for keeping my son safe on the ambulance ride to the children's hospital.

I don't ever want to see you again.

Thank you, ER team at the children's hospital, for being ready for us when we arrived.

Thank you, ER nurse, for responding rapidly when my son started vomiting.

Thank you, neurologist in the ER, for gently steering us parents towards having our son admitted to the hospital, and for jumping up to help him when he started vomiting again.  

I don't ever want to see you again.

Thank you, doctors on the neurology ward, for assessing my son during your rounds and for listening to my concerns about his current anti-seizure medications.

Thank you, hospital staff, for cleaning the rooms and linens and for preparing and delivering allergy-friendly meals.

Thank you, neurology nurses, for periodically checking my son's vital signs and for giving him whatever he needed—IV fluids, medications, and after 3 days in the hospital, his discharge papers.

I don't ever want to see you again.