Heat and Hospitals

DJ woke up looking pale this morning and was very emotional. I gave him some breakfast (fruit loops), of which he ate maybe 5 loops. Anyone who knows this kid, knows he can seriously pack the food away, so I was concerned. He said he would rather have a waffle, so I tossed one in the toaster. Yes, I realize I am the worst pseudo-mom in terms of cooking, but he does have a balanced diet and looooooves his veggies! In any event, he didn't even take a full bite of waffle, before he began puking. I won't go into gory details, but it was bad. DJ hasn't thrown up since he was just a baby, and while I know what to do, I still freaked out a little. I called Todd. I know, we're getting divorced, but we are still friends and he's a medic for gosh sakes. He calmed me down and I gave DJ some small sips of water. Not too long after, that came back too. Today was the hottest day so far this year, at 95, with a heat index well over 100 degrees. I was very concerned that with the heat (our A/C doesn't work well), and DJ not keeping down even water, he would get dehydrated very quickly. Todd said I should take him to the ER and I called over there and the nurse agreed. So, I packed DJ into the car, with a bowl and towel and drove the 45 minutes to the Naval Hospital in Bethesda. We got checked in pretty quickly and he just laid there on the bed, pretty mellow (another very off-behavior for a generally hyper kid). The doctor came in and poked around, we waited awhile longer and they gave him some anti-nausea medicine and had him try to drink pedialite. He kept that down and we were sent home. It's just a virus. I was pretty sure it would be, I just didn't want to take chances, with the heat and everything.

We have been home for a few hours, DJ has had lots of fluids and some crackers and seems to be doing alright, but still pretty subdued. I'm going to put him in the bathtub in a few minutes, get his teeth brushed and flossed, read a goodnight story, and send him off to sleep. I'm sure he's exhausted. I know I am! Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that whatever he had he keeps to himself.

I happened to have my camera with me, so here is a picture of the poor little guy...

Update: When I put DJ to bed, he asked for a nightlight. We put one in his room the first week we moved here, to help him settle in, but otherwise, he hasn't had one since he was a baby. I think today may have traumatized him a little. Extra hugs and cuddles for him!

I just went in to check on him and he is out cold (well, out hot? Even with the AC and celing fans, its pretty hot), so hopefully he will get some good rest tonight and feel great tomorrow.

Update 6/8: DJ woke up feeling better today. He is a little weak, but asking to eat and drink everything in sight. Just one of those icky 24 hour bugs, I guess.