Well, Friday was a hair-raising day. Tália woke up and basically refused to eat her breakfast – now for those of you who know my little Tal, she may be slight but she does have quite an appetite and enjoys her food, ESPECIALLY breakfast. So if she refuses to eat at breakfast, something just aint right. Sure enough it wasn’t – at first I thought it was a tooth or that perhaps I had burned the roof of her mouth with some food ( to my horror!) but then she started coughing and her chest started making an awful rattling sound. In such a tiny baby, this can be quite alarming. Anyway since she had been chesty the last few weeks, I decided to stop feeding her, give her a break and then try again later So I packed my stuff and headed to Mum’s and Dad’s.
Once at my parents’ place, I sat Tália down and started to feed her – but she couldn't take anything –she refused solids and liquids and her chest seemed to be going from bad to worse. Her eyes were red and she just looked very uncomfortable. Mum, who is asthmatic told me that we should take Tália to the doctor just to check her chest. Her rattle and cough sounded like Bronchiolitis.
So by midday we were in the emergency room at Costa del Sol where they dealt with us quickly and efficiently. They gave Tali a chest x-ray and said she had mild bronchiolitis and also gave her a nebulizer. Then they admitted us to the hospital, not so much for the severity of the bronchiolitis but because Tália is too small to go without food (in fact to my dismay they weighed Táli and she had lost weight, she now weighs only 4.63 kilos) and they would need to feed her intravenously.
One look at the cold cot and our room and Tali crying and I knew we couldn't stay – I could see that hospitals made her agitated – although the staff and treatment she got this time was very good. The Dr on duty was a lovely lady and she agreed that if Tália agreed to take food, she should come home.
My brother, sister-in-law and baby arrived and together with mum and dad we tried to calm Tali and feed her. At first she cried but then I sat her up and told her loud and clear,
‘Look Tali – I hate hospitals too but if you don’t eat this, we have to stay here in this cold room – don’t you want to go home and be with your sisters and the whole family?´
Instantly she started to eat, we all sang and spoke to her gently and to my relief we were soon headed back to my parent’s house. My husband had collected the girls from school and we were all together. I felt a sense of security – these days Táli goes from up to down and having everyone around me just helps me feel safer.
This last weekend has been bittersweet – like a roller coaster. My brother and sister-in-law left for good on Monday. We all stayed at my parents´ home to be together for this final weekend – if I had had to stay in hospital, I would have been gutted. We had a fabulous weekend just hanging around together – so much laughter, dancing to ABBA, watching X factor and all pitching in. However Táli’s weakness on Friday left me very sensitive. Saying goodbye on Sunday was also quite a tough thing for me. My brother and sister-in-law have really been there for me. We spend so much time together and they would move mountains with me.
On Monday, my friend Susan came and worked with me from home – just having her company and friendship lifted my spirits. By Tuesday I felt my old self coming back and I went shopping with my parents – a bit of retail therapy and a cosy coffee out can really make one cheer up!!
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