A brief post from the PICU
On overnight call in the PICU. During this day, a number of useful hints and life lessons have come up.
The most salient ones being:
1. A 5 day-old baby is not a football. It is not acceptable under any circumstances to throw a baby. Even if it's into a couch.
2. If your baby has a high fever, neck stiffness, and is seizing, it is not okay to refuse to go to the hospital and try to 'treat' this yourself. The baby, if s/he survives, will have lifelong brain damage. There are few things I can guarantee in medicine. This is one of them.
3. When jaywalking across a busy road while carrying a baby, it is not okay to tell the two 8 year-olds with you to just 'run for it.' Especially if there's a large semi truck barreling down one of those lanes.
4. A large semi truck has a very long stopping distance. A very long stopping distance.
5. Do not feed whole grapes to children under 4. Whole grapes have this annoying tendency to get lodged in windpipes, which are remarkably about the same size as the grape. Then the child does really un-fun things like choke, turn blue, and try to die. In case that event occurs, it would be a good idea to call EMS immediately rather than wait around to see if the child will 'get over it.'
The most salient ones being:
1. A 5 day-old baby is not a football. It is not acceptable under any circumstances to throw a baby. Even if it's into a couch.
2. If your baby has a high fever, neck stiffness, and is seizing, it is not okay to refuse to go to the hospital and try to 'treat' this yourself. The baby, if s/he survives, will have lifelong brain damage. There are few things I can guarantee in medicine. This is one of them.
3. When jaywalking across a busy road while carrying a baby, it is not okay to tell the two 8 year-olds with you to just 'run for it.' Especially if there's a large semi truck barreling down one of those lanes.
4. A large semi truck has a very long stopping distance. A very long stopping distance.
5. Do not feed whole grapes to children under 4. Whole grapes have this annoying tendency to get lodged in windpipes, which are remarkably about the same size as the grape. Then the child does really un-fun things like choke, turn blue, and try to die. In case that event occurs, it would be a good idea to call EMS immediately rather than wait around to see if the child will 'get over it.'