This post was sponsored by Floating Hospital for Children as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. #FloatingHospital #IC
One thing I have never taken for granted is the proximity of our town to Boston, one of the biggest medical hubs in the country. We are so lucky to be a 1 1/2 hour ride away from some of the best medical care in the world. I know this all too well because last December we wound up in Boston at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center with my youngest.
It started with an unexplained fever that lasted a few days, breaking through Motrin and Tylenol. On the third day, I knew I had to take him back into the pediatrician. Because he had no other symptoms besides the fever, we were sent for lab work to figure out what was going on. Later that afternoon I stopped back at the office and was asked to wait in a room to talk to the physician. At that moment, I started to really get scared. I knew they wouldn’t ask me to come back to a room unless there was something really wrong.
His labs indicated that he was fighting a major infection. While they weren’t worried about cancer, they needed to find out where the infection was immediately. I went home, grabbed my son and stopped for an antibiotic injection before heading up to the Floating Hospital for Children. Our pediatrician recommended going there, letting us know that she sent many patients up there when they needed to go to Boston. She loved that she could speak to the hospitalist and get them all of the necessary information very quickly, which made our admitting process SO MUCH easier!
After arriving at the Floating Hospital we spent a very brief time in the ER while waiting for a chest x-ray and more labs to be drawn. Thankfully the Child Life specialists were there with iPads and toys to keep my son distracted from the traumatic experience. We soon found out that he had pneumonia, and he was sent up to the floor to get IV antibiotics.
We are so thankful for the excellent care he received and the kind and professional staff from top to bottom. The smaller size of the hospital allowed for an atmosphere on the floor that was calm and quiet, and they made a very scary and unsettling experience easier for us. We were constantly reminded that you don’t have to be big to be strong– see the video below (if you’re from the area, you’ll recognize the voice of the narrator)!
Helpful Info for the Summer from Floating Hospital for Children
It’s already tick season here on Cape Cod, and it seems to get worse each year. With one child that already had Lyme disease, we are very careful about tick bite prevention. Here are some great tips from one of the physicians at the Floating Hospital for Children:
- Use insect repellent containing DEET.
- Wear long pants, tucked into socks, and no sandals in the woods.
- Check your child every evening for ticks. In order to transmit Lyme disease, the tick must be on for greater than 24 hours.
- If a tick is found, use a gloved hand to pull it straight out. Then wash the bite with soap and water.
- If you live in a wooded area, get tick tweezers to help remove the bodies of the ticks before they become completely embedded and do damage.
The above tips are provided by Lynne Karlson, MD, Chief of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center
For more tips on keeping your kids healthy and strong, visit the Floating Hospital for Children website.
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