the night

Riley is running a fever. 103 when I arrive at the hospital. His body has started to rash. Red irregular blotches everywhere from under the chin on down. Tylonol only brings the fever down to 102 then 101, but that is as far as it will budge. The nurses check him at 3 and again at 6. He doesn't vomit again. He is happy I am here. He has even started to say please and thank you to the nurses and staff without prompting. The sicker he is the better his manners are getting.

This morning the Doctor comes in. He is more professional today. Concern shows on his face. He checks Riley over. Riley is exhausted. He likes the head of the bed raised and then ends up slipping down into a ball at the bottom. I recline the bed flat and Riley stretches out and continues sleeping.

The nurse comes in to check vitals. He lifts his arm for the blood pressure cuff and I back up from the odor. He stinks. Even the nurse takes a step back for a fresh breath. I tell Riley he needs a bath. He is so tired he doesn't want to order food. I order him oatmeal with maple syrup and brown sugar, and his apple sauce for the pills. The nurse as she is leaving tells us the schedule. He will need his shower before 10:30. That's when he gets his Benedryl to prepare for the 11:00am infusion that lasts 4 hours today. The Benedryl will knock him out and he wont want to shower after that.

I can tell he is tired. he just wants to sleep after the last night. He still has a fever. I tell him if he starts to lose weight they will put that tube in his nose like the boy next door has. It freaked Riley out the first day when they were introduced. He takes a few bites of oatmeal and uses the apple sauce to swallow his pills. No fuss , no big deal anymore taking pills. He is proud of himself, but he doesn't eat much and he rolls over to sleep. I am told he may need 10 to 12 hours a day for sleep.

The school teacher drops by. I tell her Riley had a bad night. I ask about the afternoon,. He perks up in the afternoons, at least he has so far. Tom arrives. We hang out and chat quietly.

My mom calls she wants to know why I didn't call her last night. She lives closer. Riley called me and wanted me I tell her. We can talk to Riley about the option to call Grandma since she lives closer and can get to him faster. I will leave it to Riley's choice. He could call us both next time.
I gave him that cell phone just for this reason and I had him put in Grandma's number.

He's up now. The nurse wrapped his pick line in Saran wrap to keep it sealed and dry. He is showering now. Yeah!! No more stinky boy for a while.