Wee Workshops

Last night I attended a workshop hosted by a nurse from the Montreal Children's Hospital. Stacy used to have these workshops at Belles Mamans but when it closed, she stopped giving them. Fortunately, after many emails asking her if she would be giving any workshops on her own, she decided to do just that and host them from her home. It's extra awesome because her house happens to be a five minute walk from my house!

Yesterday she talked about childhood illnesses. When we went around the room to introduce ourselves and to explain why we were attending, I explained that Jr has thus far only suffered two illnesses (a virus, the only symptom being a runny nose, and gastro) so I wanted to know what she could get and what to expect if she did. It seems I have been fortunate because the majority of the moms said their kids have had a lot of different illness (these kids go to daycare). One mom said her little girl, 1 1/2, had two bouts of pneumonia in less than 6 months!

Anyhow, we learned all sorts of stuff, like what a child's respiratory system looks like, how it functions and how it differs from an adult's. We learned about croupe, bronchialitis, roseola, fever, dehydration, allergies, choking... She had videos so we could see what to look for if our child had XYZ illness and also hear what it would sound like (the difference between wheezing or a barking cough, for example). We learned that if you live on the island of Montreal, it will take an ambulance 8-10 minutes to reach your house in perfect conditions. If you live off-island, it's 10-15 minutes. Stacy noted, however, that while it may be quicker for you to drive you and your baby to the hospital, never drive alone.

I think one of the most important things I learned was that babies don't just die. There are signs way before that becomes a worry (e.g. lethargy or dehydration) or it was preventable (e.g. choking or drowning). 

The other important fact was something my mom has always said: if your kid is playing, if your kid isn't lying on the couch all day, he/she is most likely fine. But at the end of the day, go with your gut. If you think something's wrong, there probably is. The nurse stressed this over and over. I know my kid better than any doctor. I know how much Jr sleeps, how much she eats and what an "off" day looks like.

There were some pretty nervous mommies there last night. But I hope they got the core message rather than hearing and seeing only the scary stuff. We definitely need to keep our emergency rooms free for those with real emergencies. Stacy said 9 times out of 10 nurses can tell right away if a child will be seeing a doctor right away or not. If your child can walk in by him or herself, you will be waiting a long time. If you bring them in your arms, a nurse will often ask to hold them. They're checking to see if your baby goes to them without a fight and if your baby will lie in their arms quietly. Then they know this baby is really sick. 

There are five categories under which your child is placed, 1 being you need to see a doctor ASAP and 5 being your child isn't very sick and you should go home (although nurses by law cannot tell you to go home). We were told we can ask the nurse what category he or she placed us in and that makes me feel better so that I assess if a wait is really worth it.

All that being said... I had a lot of trouble falling asleep last night. Some of those illness are pretty damn scary even if they're not life threatening. I feel for those parents who have had seriously sick babies.