If you visit here often, you know we love Purdue...we're almost always sarcastic and we write this site because it gives us an outlet to vent when frustrated, virtually meet with fellow Boilers, voice our thoughts and concerns about the future of Purdue athletics, and get jabs in on Notre Dame and IU when they're available.
I'll be the first to admit that I love the Paint Crew's "IU Sucks" chant. It's thunderous, it's pretty harmless and it stokes the all-but-dorment rivalry that once burned white hot. Plus, Tom Crean's teams have given no argument against the chant.
All that said, IU's name is on something that is tremendous...and that entity helped save my daughter's life this week...and if you're up for a departure from what defines this site, please read on. If you're not, I won't be offended. But as a part-owner of Boiled Sports, this is what I want to write about tonight...so I'm doing it.
Sunday Night
My family had some good friends over for dinner Sunday night. Dinner was tasty and went well. And after the meal, some of the kids went into the basement to play, and the two youngest stayed upstairs and hung around with the old people as we talked. Mrs. Boilerdowd asked me if I could feel that our daughter (sometimes referred to as Tiny Boilerdowd, or TBD, around here) had a bit of a fever. I confirmed it, but didn't think anything of it as she had acted normal all night.
As our friends left, our daughter became more and more tired-acting and curled up in Mom's lap- she's 16 months old...so that's not abnormal as she's a pretty cuddly baby. The two went upstairs so TBD could take a bath and get to bed. After a half hour or so, my wife, a Purdue-educated RN called me up with a horrible tone in her voice.
I came upstairs and found my little girl now completely lethargic. This was pretty abnormal as she's got Dad's personality and is usually really interactive...she burns hot, or is having a great time, there's really not much in-between with her. So seeing her nearly sleeping with her eyes open was bizarre.
We started testing her- calling her name, snapping and clapping and she seemed to become more and more distant. Her breathing changed to a gargle, and she started to vomit, but didn't wretch...just tilted her head and opened her mouth. The worry on my wife's face was obvious and horrifying. She assesses kids for a living at a pediatric doctor's office...and she was witnessing something that wasn't just a normal sick kid.
In a minute of time, we went from discussing trying to get her attention, to taking her to the ER to dialing 911 and having an ambulance take our daughter to the hospital. We're close to a fire station, so a fire engine and ambulance were at our house within about three minutes. During those three minutes I talked to the operator about what I had seen.
We met the paramedics at the front door with our now rigid daughter in my wife's arms. She stared into space as her pupils stayed large...and was no longer interacting with the outside world. My wife thought we were witnessing a febrile seizure, which is not too uncommon- about 5% of 2-4 year olds have them...but they're still scary, and the timing with the rapid fever lined up pretty well.
But those seizures usually last a few minutes and the child is OK in pretty short order (but the parents are scared). 10 minutes turned into a half hour...a half hour, now at the ER of the hospital near our home turned into an hour...and then two. Her coloring stayed good, her breathing didn't stop, but no one had answers and many in the ER seemed as confused as the little girl's Dad in the room with no medical treatment.
The team of 5 or 6 docs and nurses asked my wife where she wanted our daughter to go for further treatment- St. Vincent's or IU's Riley Hospital, she said St. Vincent's. It was closer, she used to work there and was comfortable with it. But someone in that room botched my wife's request, and soon we were being asked if we wanted the Riley Lifeline team to drive our daughter or take the Lifeline helicopter to downtown Indy.
I took umbrage with the fact that my wife's request had been disregarded, but in hindsight, I can say this mistake was the best thing that could have happened for my daughter. Since our daughter was stable, we said send the ambulance. When the Lifeline pediatric paramedics arrived, they took over the area, and the team of ER nurses and docs who had been working on our daughter rightfully gave them the floor.
Their equipment and training was geared toward kids, even undersized 16 month olds and they calmly worked on getting my little girl downtown to Riley Children's Hospital. Moments later, the two most important women in my life were heading downtown in a gigantic ambulance with IU emblazoned on the back.
Over the next few days, teams of neurologists, pulmonologists, MRI techs (including the sister of BS regular, Boilergal), internists, residents and extremely-capable nurses worked to get our daughter healthy and figure out what had happened. They didn't just treat her, but seemed to care for her. Just a note, one of the great nurses we came across was a Purdue girl...and you IU fans who are reading should note something: She was probably the best-looking nurse working in the gigantic building...just sayin'.
Anyway, it wasn't just the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) and Pulmonary Floor that had an incredible culture of caring, it was the entire hospital. We wore pink bracelets that probably showed the staff exactly why we were there. Everybody treated us with kindness and care- from the janitors to administrators to billing...it was unlike anything I've ever been around.
We also learned about the Ronald McDonald House on site. As my wife expressed, it was an oasis that felt like home in the middle this hospital. My whole life I had seen commercials that talked about Riley and RMH, but never really understood why they were so special. We learned it first hand this week.
When you're fearing you might lose a child and you can't help but breaking into tears multiple times each day, you need every bit of caring and prayer you can receive just to get through. Our friends lifted us up with the prayers, and the great people working at IU's Riley hospital gave us further reason to believe, along with our faith.
There's but one banner that truly makes IU special in my eyes...and it's this one:
19 comments:
Glad those Hoosiers are good for something! Prayers for your daughter--hope she's doing well!
She's doing very well- Thanks!
Glad to hear she is doing better! Did they ever figure out what the actual problem was, or was it just a severe case of the seizures? Stay health TBD!
A few of the tests still aren't complete...but what they determined is that while not epileptic, she has a propensity for seizures. She'll be on medication for the next two years...I'm not a fan of that idea, but it should help keep us from being scared every time she gets a fever.
Sports rivalries are fun, and we enjoy everything that they bring to the table, but this is what universities are really about. It's annoying to constantly hear about IU's five basketball NCs, but things like Riley more than make up for that.
Glad to hear TBD is doing better.
Pretty much exactly what zlionsfan said... Rivalries exist so we can jab at each other, but at the end of the day, we should all be human beings with one common goal... help others in any way we can. I'm going to be getting my MS here at Purdue in a couple years when I graduate, but some of the classes I'll have to take will be at IU's school of medicine in Indy. I wasn't so happy about that when I first drew up my plan of study, but I have learned to deal with that. My degree will still say Purdue, and they really do have a good program there. The classes I will have to take down there are taught by adjunct professors anyway, who teach here as well.
So glad to hear that TBD is much better. Hope you never have a scare like that again.
I love that even in the middle of that post, you still took a jab at IU. Go Purdue, go TBD, and in this case, even Go IU!
Glad to hear she is doing much better.
Great to hear that your daughter is better, BDowd. Sounds like it was a scary situation. We have the great people at Riley to thank.
COD- I still draw a line at saying "Go IU". Not happening.
This is a great story. I'm glad to hear that TBD is doing much better. I can't imagine the heartache you went through. My family knows first hand how good a job Riley does as I had a brother who was there for a little while after birth. It's an amazing place. Best of health to TBD in the future!
Riley is a wonderful place! I worked there throughout college and saw firsthand what a wonderful, uplifting place it can in such a frightening time. It is THE place that I would take my child. Glad that lil Boilergal could be there to assist... she is great with kids! Continued thoughts and prayers to you and your family.
Also, I assure you that many of the pharmacists were fellow Boilers!
And... if the state would allow Purdue to have a medical school, we would dominate the Loosiers in that as well!
Lil' Boilergal...love it!
Thanks, you guys for the kind words. COD, I gotta go with Brunner on this one...but hats off to them!
I'm glad to hear that your daughter is doing well. As the father of 22 month old son who just had to take him to the ER the other day (nothing life threatening), I know the feeling.
While we poke fun at IU, we do it in the name of sports rivalry and not in terms of academic achievement. IU and Purdue are two very different schools that both happen to be two of the best in their academic specialties. The state of Indiana is very lucky to have these two institutions to serve us.
I wish your family well and enjoy reading the site.
Indiana for MD's, music and law -
Purdue for Ag, Engineering, Football, Basketball, Golf, Diving, etc.
Glad the kid's back home.
As a son of a pediatrician... I spent many times walking around Riley Hospital while he was on residency. Indiana is extremely blessed to have a top class hospital dedicated specifically for children. Although I am a boiler I was dead set on going to IU for medicine because solely of Riley. Then University of Louisville gave me a better offer, I took it. I have no regrets of my decision. But I still hold Riley in high esteem. Glad TBD is doing well.
Praying for you and your family.
Hope your daughter is okay and has a speedy recovery.
The Friday before the Super Bowl I took a hard fall at Purdue leaving class on some ice that caused PUSH to send me to the IU Hospital on the east side of Lafayette (what an ironic location!). Though I still question PUSH to send me to the hospital (because they originally thought I was fine there, and I was), the nurses were very kind and welcoming, not to mention the hospital was very clean and nice (the bill wasn't).
So I can kind of say the same thing about IU and their system of hospitals. But a few days later when we played IU, I still chanted "IU SUCKS!" as loud as I could.
I'll keep your daughter and your family in my prayers.
Our daughter was a premature baby and was born with plural effusion, (water in her lungs). She spent the Christmas of 2006 in a hospital NICU ward, was discharged, and then was re-admitted after 24 hours to the PICU, only to suffer a cardiac arrest while taking a blood sample. When she finally arrived home, she looked like a small car battery with the oxygen tubes and leads from her ever-present apnea monitor, (which stayed with her for about 12 months).
Through all this, we encountered several IU doctors who worked tirelessly to provide our daughter Reagan with the best possible care. While proudly displaying my Purdue gear and even snapping a few photos with Reagan donning a slant P beanie cap, the doctors continued to be there to answer all of our questions and give us hope for her health.
The nurses beamed at all the Purdue gear and they were especially great to us despite the terrible situation.
Reagan is now 4-1/2 and is in perfect health. I thank God everyday for her.
I know how hard it is when going through something like that and feeling as if everything is being sucked right down from under you. Just know we are all praying for you and yours. It's tough, but it makes you appreciate just how special these little people in our lives are, (and I don't mean midgets). It sounds like she's a fighter and will come through ok.
We're cheering and praying for the little Dowd up here in Auburn.
God bless,
JF
Thanks to everybody for the prayers...as I read this, it's about 1.5 years later. My little girl is doing great...and hasn't had any related problems since this episode.
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