"Hotel Samsung"

One week ago we were checking in for a two night stay at Samsung Medical Center, also known as "Hotel Samsung" by several friends who have stayed there more days than they would like.  On Friday, Dec 6th, Marc and Emmalyn had developed enough of an upper respiratory illness that I needed to take them to the doctor.  By Sunday, Alaina was having difficulty breathing.  Monday, the 9th I took her to our pediatrician, who recommended us taking her to the general hospital - but allowed us to try to treat Alaina at home with nebulizers and other meds.  After two nights of not much sleep and a sick and hoarse baby, on Dec 11 we took Alaina to the pediatricians at Samsung.  She was admitted with RSV (a virus that causes common cold symptoms in kids, but can cause severe infection in infants) and subsequent increased work of breathing and respiratory rate.  

Daddy maintained the homefront with the help of some of my good friends to watch Marc and Emmalyn during the day, while Mommy and Alaina spent quality one-on-one time in the hospital getting better.  We had to get worse first though.  Alaina became highly agitated, stopped eating, and spiked a fever that Wednesday night - and because of her rapid and shallow breathing was retaining carbon dioxide.  However, after getting IV fluids, tylenol, and another breathing treatment, she really turned a corner and began resting and breathing easier.

Being in the hospital in Korea is interesting. First, it is HOT in those rooms.  They do not mess around in the winter.  I could look out our window and see the snow, but I felt like I had been lying on the beach and needed to take a dip in the water.   Also, the medical system is definitely not nearly as service oriented as in the US.  While we received good medical attention, they really relied on me being there as Alaina's caregiver. When they had medicine or nebulizer treatments to give her, they would just hand me the syringe and leave - without knowing if I gave it to her or not!

On Thursday night we were moved from the International Health Services Ward (in the Hospital Annex... it is a really big place) to the Pediatric Ward in the main building.. probably because we had such a difficult night on Wednesday (up most of the night, lots of interventions!) and the doctors really wanted us with the pediatric nurses that Thursday night.  That night went really well though, and Alaina and I got to catch up on our sleep!

 For those interested, the layout for the "wards" in all the different buildings is this same odd shaped quadrilateral with an open center and a court yard at the bottom.

Thankfully, on Friday the 13th, the doctors thought that Alaina improved enough to send us home.  She has continued to get better and now is completely over the virus.

It is so scary having our littlest baby sick (especially since Marc and Emmalyn didn't experience their first illness until many months later!), but we Praise God for helping us through this time, for the support we received (friends taking care of Marc and Emmalyn, sending supplies, food, and visiting us in the hospital, and a ride home from the hospital while Jarrod was at work), and that Alaina is healthy once again.

So happy to be HOME!