Key West

What a week. There are some weeks that just can't adequately be described, and I think this qualifies -- especially for Erin and Grant. Let me start off by saying that Erin did an amazing job, despite existing on virtually no sleep and having to deal with a very sick, very angry baby, and at times, a very irritated, very irritating husband. Given the amount of stress this week produced for all of us, she held together better than I did, and I owe her a big anniversary night out here very shortly.

We arrived in Key West on Friday night late and headed straight for the airport. On Saturday, my cousin was getting married in the afternoon, so Saturday morning consisted of a quick trip to the pool, followed by preparations for the wedding. It was hot. I mean REALLY hot on Saturday. Everyone at the wedding was sweating in pools. The ceremony was short and sweet, and it was followed by a very nice meal in the courtyard. Everyone had a great time, despite the sticky conditions, and I was glad we were able to come down and support Erin and Gordon as they embark on married life together.

Saturday evening, I went out with my cousins and the bridal party for a night on Duval Street, Key West's version of Bourbon Street. We had a great time, and I would heartily recommend the experience, even if you're not a big partier. The opportunity to see alcoholics creating their own enterprises (take pictures with a drunk guy for $5, have a drunk guy tell you a joke for $5, have a drunk guy sell you a big, nasty hot dog, etc) is time well spent.

On Sunday, Erin, Grant, and I wandered back to Duval Street for lunch. We ate at a Jamaican restaurant. Grant enjoyed the steel drum music. In fact, he enjoyed it enough to break my sunglasses in delight. So after lunch and a brief stop for new shades, we again retreated to the hotel. On Sunday night, we went out to dinner with family, and that's when things started downhill.

During dinner, Grant began coughing. He's prone to being generally full of snot, and he's also prone to dramatic fits of coughing, so we weren't all that concerned. But as dinner progressed, he coughed more and more, so we headed back to the hotel early. That night, he had a little temperature, so we gave him Tylenol and put him to bed.

On Monday, he seemed to be doing much better, in some respects. He didn't sleep well, so he was tired, but he generally was his usual self, just tired. We didn't do anything on Monday, with the exception of a quick bite for lunch. We took him back to the hotel, but by Monday afternoon, we couldn't get him to drink or eat anything, and the fever had returned. We called our insurance company's "Dial-A-Doc" service, and based on the fever and inability to get Grant to
drink anything, we headed for the emergency room.

Upon arrival at the Lower Keys Medical Center, they took Grant's vitals, and he did indeed still have a fever and was a bit dehydrated. With much screaming and parental help, we put him on an IV. At this point, Erin and I figured they'd get some fluids in him, tell us to give him Tylenol for the fever, and we'd be on our way. Little did we know...

At around 11pm, the ER doctor returned and informed us that Grant tested positive for RSV, a common respiratory virus in children. Given the hydration issues, he suggested we admit Grant for the night to make sure he got plenty of fluids. We weren't thrilled about a night in the hospital, but obviously were mostly concerned for our precious little dude, so we agreed. It took until roughly 1am to get into a room. In the mean time, we had to put two new IVs in Grant's arms because of various problems. The little guy is strong. Disturbingly strong. It took three of us with all of our effort to give him an IV. I felt terrible for him, as by this time he was exhausted and completely scared. In the end, Erin stayed the night, while I returned to the hotel only a few minutes away.

I returned to the hospital on Tuesday morning to find that Grant was still runnning a fever, although it was controlled with Tylenol, and he was still not drinking anything. He'd been up all night, as had Erin, and both were completely and utterly exhausted. Grant was litterally limp, he was so tired. We saw the pediatrician around 2pm, and he informed us that while Grant didn't have a bad case of RSV (a bad case apparently involves putting the kid on oxygen and spending 5+ days in the hospital), he was still concerned about his inability to take fluids on his own. He recommended a 2nd night in the hospital. Our vacation was quickly slipping away.

On Wednesday morning, I arrived at the hospital to find that both Grant and Erin had gotten some sleep. Grant slept at least 14 hours that night, and he was pretty much back to his old self. The fever was gone. The only question now was whether he'd drink anything.

He awakened and immediately drank some grape juice provided by the hospital. He was obviously thirsty, in part because he'd finally yanked himself free of the IV in the middle of the night. We were thrilled to see him drink something on his own, until a few minutes later when he had a fit of coughing and spewed it all back up. This happened a couple more times, and we began at this point to consider the very real possibility that we wouldn't be leaving on our scheduled Thursday flights.

The good news was that Grant was in great spirits. He was standing up in his crib, giving everyone and everything his signature point accompanied by "What's zat?" The nurses, predictably, declared him adorable. Our nurse called the pediatrician and asked what to do about the fluids. At this point, we started giving Grant tablespoons of water, which he thankfully held down. When the pediatrician examined him Wednesday afternoon, he told us that if Grant could start taking an ounce of Gatorade every 15 minutes for the rest of the afternoon without spewing it up, he'd be fine to release him.

Thankfully, Grant didn't have any more trouble after this point. He's still coughing a bit, but he's holding down fluids and there aren't any other signs that he was ever sick. We couldn't be more thankful that he's doing well.

I'm now sitting here at MIA -- the call sign for the Miami International Airport, or the eventual status of the contents of your luggage at the hands of the MIA baggage handlers, take your pick. I'm sitting in the very spot where I took a phone call in January 2007 to let us know that we needed to get back to Indy ASAP. Our baby was on the way. Interestingly, the big baggage wrapping machines that so angered me on our previous visit are no longer around. I'd like to think my complaining did the trick, but perhaps I'll never know.

Anyway, as I sit here, I'm not thinking about the fact that I left a mess at work last week, anxiously awaiting a chance to sit in the sun for a week with my family on vacation. I'm not thinking about how much money we spent, only to spend our week in the hospital. And I'm not thinking about the fact that I now have to return to work, exhausted instead of refreshed. All of those things have crossed my mind this week, but in the end, none of that matters.

Right now I'm only thankful that Grant is okay, and I'm thinking about how amazing the past year has been and how much I can look forward to other good times with my family. I'm thinking about how much Erin and Grant mean to me, and I'm thinking about the fact that I couldn't have imagined loving a kid any more than I love Grant. So as I sit here in the same spot where I heard that Grant was on his way, I'm thankful to God that Grant is okay and that we got through this mess. Vacation will have to wait until next time.

I'd also like to thank the staff at the Lower Keys Medical Center. They work in a modest facility in a remote locale, but they were wonderful to us all week. Grant got wonderful care in the hospital, and I feel fortunate that there was a hospital so close to our hotel that could provide him with good care. If we ever return to Key West, I hope to avoid these fine people at all cost.

We have some pictures from the hospital that I'll post once we're back in Indy. What a week.