I would never have thought of myself as an ambulance chaser...

.... but that is just what I found myself doing last night!

Backing up to the beginning...

Alan woke up throwing up at 8:00 yesterday morning.

He didn't have a fever, but he could NOT keep any amount of fluids down, even a tiny sip. We knew dehydration could become an issue pretty quickly, so we checked in with Dallas (Alan's transplant team) and headed to our local hospital to get labs and be seen by a pediatrician.

Labs at 12:30 (after which Alan never threw up again and was able to keep down his gatorade and even a couple of potato chips... not the best sick-kid food but hey... they were on hand and he wanted some!).

Saw pedi around 2pm. Pedi talked to Dallas, and because some of the lab results clearly showed dehydration that appeared to have come on rather quickly, Dallas wanted Alan. The plan was for him to have a bag of IV fluids locally and then be transferred (by ambulance) to Dallas. We were shocked!

Admission to the local ER went great, including his IV stick. Alan has always been tricky to get an iv started on, and especially when he is dehydrated. Sometimes it can take multiple attempts and many, many tears. However, his nurse yesterday afternoon got it in ONE easy stick. But get this... (God is so awesome).. we found out later in the afternoon, our ER nurse is only part time in the ER... usually she is a flight nurse!!! Ha! No wonder it was such an easy stick! :) See... I told you God is awesome! :)

My mom hurried home from work to our house and packed an overnight bag for Greg. We decided Greg would ride with Alan in the ambulance to Dallas (mainly because I got carsick last time!) and since I am not comfortable driving to Dallas by myself (2 1/2 hours) I would come home. (Pretty much useless, aren't I??) ;)

Later in the afternoon we found out that we would NOT be going to Dallas, but that Alan was going to be admitted to the local hospital for overnight IV fluids and observation. What a relief!

And that is where he spent the night. Greg stayed with him, since he already had a bag, and Mom gave me a ride home and we left a vehicle at the hospital for Greg and Alan to come home in when Alan is released today.

This is a first for us, and so far it is a great experience to have our kiddo in the hospital just 30 minutes down the road instead of 2 1/2 hours!!

Oh, and the ambulance "chasing" came in because the local hospital is divided into two "campuses". The pediatrics division is across town from the ER we spent the afternoon in, so Alan was transferred by ambulance from one hospital to the other (just a 5-10 minute drive) and Mom and I followed to be sure to know what entrance to go in and things like that since by that time it was well after-hours.

Alan is doing much better today (in our opinion he's "just fine") and should get to come home this afternoon. We have learned that everyone is always extra-cautious even with normal childhood bugs like this one when it involves a transplant kid, and we are just fine with that!

P.S. - Right now, Dale and Alan are visiting on the phone, Dale here at home and Alan with his feet propped up in front of the tv in his hospital bed. I can just imagine what Alan is saying, because I am certainly loving Dale's end of the conversation!! :)