Girl Removed from Hospital Might be in Mexico

A mother removed her daughter from a hospital in Arizona. The girl has leukemia and a catheter in her heart. This could lead to very serious issues if the girl gets an infection. Now, it appears that the girl may be in Mexico. The information is unclear, and police are still uncertain of where the girl is at. Norma Bracamontes is the mother of an eleven year old daughter who has leukemia. Her daughter, who is being called “Emily” in the media, was in the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She was there for about a month, and was receiving chemotherapy. An … Continue reading

Mom Removes Daughter with Leukemia from Hospital

A mother has removed her eleven year old daughter from a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. The child has leukemia. She also has a heart catheter in place, and could die if she doesn’t go back to the hospital soon. At the time I am writing this blog, police do not know where the child has been taken to. Leukemia is a serious condition. It is the cancer of the blood forming tissues in the body, including the bone marrow, and the lymphatic system. There are many types of leukemia, including some forms that are more common in children than in … Continue reading

No Trantrums

My toddler is such a little helper. We’ve had a new baby in the house for the last month and Jessie is such a mommy. She is the best big sister. She is so gentle with Baby E. She is loving and genuinely concerned. Jessie loves her dolls and stuffed animals. She is always playing with her babies. Since Baby E has been in the house, she mimics how I am with Baby E with her babies. It’s really cute. I guess she couldn’t really remember how it was with the last infant to do the same things. Even though … Continue reading

Is this the Hospital or the Hilton?

On a recent trip to visit a friend in the hospital after she had her baby, I noticed that her room had a flat screen TV mounted on the wall. I had a TV in my hospital room, but it wasn’t that nice! I began to wonder what kind of accommodations might be available at the hospitals in larger, wealthier cities. As I started looking at different birthing centers and hospitals in cities like New York City, I realized my hunch was spot on. Some centers offer amenities like concierge service, leather couches, wooden floors, spa tubs and giant flat … Continue reading

What Type Of Newborn Mother Are You?

Whether you’re a veteran mom or about to give birth to your first child, you probably have opinions about life with a newborn. My husband worked in a church last year, so we built close relationships with many people. Everyone in the church felt a close connection to us, even if we didn’t know them very well. It was wonderful. We found out I was expecting a baby in the fall, and as the due date approached, I got an increasing amount of comments from people that made me very nervous. They were comments like, “What hospital are you delivering … Continue reading

Questions To Ask Before Getting Your Infant’s Blood Drawn

From the time my daughter was about three months old, she’s had blood in her stool. It’s not every diaper and not even every week, but it consistently reappears. Her pediatrician and a G.I. specialist have almost entirely ruled out the possibility that it is anything to worry about. Even so, they recommended we get her blood drawn to test for and rule out any blood clotting disorders. I’m not the type of parent who immediately goes along with what a doctor tells me. I like to do my research, weigh the pros and cons, and then make a decision. … Continue reading

Preparing a Young Child for the Hospital

Whether it is tubes in the ear for frequent ear infections or something more serious, having a young child stay in the hospital, especially when it involves surgery, can be a nerve-filled experience for both you and your child. Parents Magazine recently published an article all about preparing children when they have to go to the hospital. There is some good advice here, especially as it relates to babies and the youngest children. I’ve adapted some of the advice given as a result of my own experiences with children and hospitals. Inform yourself I always became less anxious whenever I … Continue reading

Working to Reduce Medical Errors

A study from Penn State University took a look at a relatively easy solution that might just help reduce medical errors: standardized labeling. Medication errors are costly, potentially harmful to the patient, and all too commonplace these days. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there are more than one and a half million medication mistakes each year that caues adverse reactions in patients. These mistakes cost doctors, hospitals, and insurers more than three billion dollars annually. Volunteer participants in the Penn State Hershey study tested out a very simple solution to a complex problem: color-coded labels. Anesthesiologists, residents, … Continue reading

Hospital Treatments for Croup

It is never fun when your baby is sick. Croup is one of those things that will probably affect your baby sometime in his or her young life. Most of the time, this illness can be treated at home, but it sometimes does require hospital treatment. Croup is an inflammation of the lining of the upper airway, around the vocal cords and the upper windpipe. It usually affects babies who are three months old to three years old. This is because of the size of the windpipe. A larger windpipe in a larger child generally removes the chance of getting … Continue reading

Advance Planning Before Mom Has Surgery: While At The Hospital

In my last guest Blog I wrote about the fact that on Monday I will be having surgery and some of the things I have done to prepare my home and family. This Blog is about the planning I need to do for the time I am away at the hospital. Hospital stays are typically as short as possible in years past I might have expected to stay for five or more days, but this time I don’t expect to be hospitalized for more then a day of two (if I am lucky it will be 2 days!). Short or … Continue reading