Who Knew a 3 Month Old Girl Could Make a Grown Man Cry?

This morning I went down to the hospital in the morning before visiting hours so that I would have a chance to speak with the chief doctor. When I arrived he was not around, but the nanny motioned to her watch to the number 2 or 3. So I called Virginia to let her know that I would have to wait till ten after or quarter after to get the chance to speak with him.



Before I had left home, I called FV hospital to confirm that we could admit her. The nurse took down the details and said that a doctor would call me back.



While waiting for the doctor, on the advice of my sister Anne, I had brought a bottle nipple to tap on Cai's back. This was meant to help tap the phlegm free and hopefully allow Cai to cough it up out of her lungs. The theory being that the reason she needs to be on oxygen is because there is too much liquid/phlegm in the lungs to allow the oxygen to enter into her blood.

So I had Cai on her side with her head slightly lowered to allow gravity to help pull out anything that became dislodged. Well this was quite a spectacle. In hindsight I should have charged admission to all of the onlookers. They thought I was some crazy person! The good news is that almost immediately there was some phlegm that she spit out. I continued this for about 10 minutes, and then held her in my arms.



Anne also told me that the way they teach babies to swim is to blow in their face before dunking them. This causes the baby to take a deep breath. So after I had been pounding the back of her chest, I started to blow in her face, causing her to take deep breaths, and then subsequently cough up the phlegm. The coughing was making her cry! So I felt like the world's worst Dad, and the strange looks from the crowd that was spectating didn't help at all either. However, I had to keep doing it, because she needed to clear her lungs. It was very difficult to do!



Forty five minutes after when the nanny had told me the doctor would be around, I went looking for him. I was told that he was not available but that if I came back in the afternoon, I could speak with him then. Clearly when the nanny pointed to the 2 or 3, she meant 2 or 3 O'clock, not 10 after the hour!



So I went back home to pick up Virginia. In the taxi on the way home, I got a call from FV Hospital. When the doctor listened to Cai's case history and the fact that she was still on oxygen, he said that she should be put in the ICU but that there was no space for her. He told me he would call me in a few days, when a space might be opened up.

So this left us without any options that we knew off for Cai's treatment. This was a real disappointing blow. However, Virginia and I still went back into town in the afternoon. Yesterday I discovered a fantastic little store just around the corner from the hospital. I call it the Vietnamese Walmart, though in reality it's nothing like it. However it does have everything under one roof and so when I described it to Virginia, she was pretty excited to go visit.

I dropped Virginia off and helped her get Tri up to the 2nd floor where all the clothing was located, and then ran off to the hospital to make sure I got a chance to speak to the doctor. While there didn't seem much hope, I did want to ask about the change in her medication. Yesterday she was on an oral anti biotic, but today, she was back on an IV.

As I proceeded to the third floor, at the top of the stairs, this is what I saw:



I couldn't believe my eyes. Cai was out of the room, and no longer hooked up to oxygen!!!! I quickly grabbed my camera, and took a photo and asked the nanny to grab a photo of me as well.

At this point, I thought it best to call Loan to let her know as I wasn't sure how the transfer would take place. So I called her to let her know the exciting news, and then I gave the phone to the nanny so that she could tell Loan all that she knew. As I held Cai in my arms, and knowing that she was now going to be ours to take home, my eyes welled up and I started to cry. I don't know if it was the lack of sleep, or fatherly love, but I was so incredibly happy at that moment!

When I got Loan back on the phone, she said that the nanny would take me immediately to the doctor to speak with him because he wanted to talk to me. The nurse than told me to wait about 20 minutes......no problem. I carried Cai the whole time.

When I finally got to speak to the doctor I inquired about taking Cai out of the hospital. He explained that because she was now on IV antibiotic that she would need to stay in the hospital. I asked if he thought that she would be better off in the FV Hospital (thinking that since she's now off oxygen she won't need to be in the ICU). He said yes she would. Great! So how do we go about transferring her? Well, since I have no authority in the matter (I am not yet her guardian), the request must come from the orphanage. He explained that this hospital is responsible for all the kids in central and south Vietnam. As such, they can't "pass off" their patients to other hospitals. Therefore he can not make a recommendation for transfer. Nor can he recommend that she be released because she is not healthy enough. Okay, so I get Loan back on the phone. Since we were speaking in French I wanted to make sure I hadn't missed anything.

I figured now that Cai was off oxygen, that the orphanage would be able to make the request. I had a few more questions for the doctor so I told Loan I would call her back to arrange the transfer. I asked the doctor if, while we were waiting for the papers from the orphanage, Cai could be transferred to a private room, and that we would pay for the bill. He explained that in fact, though she was off oxygen now, she still needs it from time to time. So she needs to stay in the room with the other 5 patients because this is where the oxygen is. This was of course a disappointment, but maybe it will just be for tonight.......

I called back Loan after the doctor had left and she told me she had already spoken to Tri in Hanoi (TDH's main representative in Vietnam), and that Tri would be calling me in a few minutes.

I had told Virginia I would meet her at 3, and it was now 3:15, so I had to go. I made it down the stairs to the main floor when Tri called me on the phone. She explained that because they had already made the request twice to the orphanage, to allow Cai to be transferred, that they wouldn't ask again.

So after such incredibly high hopes, we were back to square one. Except that, Cai is clearly healthier than she has been for 28 days (first time in 28 days she has been off oxygen). Plus of the six babies in her room, she is the only original one remaining - meaning babies are getting better at this hospital all the time. I think the care at the hospital is great, it really is just a question of germs. Ironically as I was repeating this very thing to Tri (while standing in the hallway of the hospital on the main floor), two rats ran by me within about 3 meters.

So the end of the day was disappointing but the good news, is that Cai is on the road to recovery!

Tomorrow I plan to inquire about the change in antibiotic (I got too caught up in events today), and perhaps find out if it can be administered orally....hoping that would mean the hospital would be willing to release her.

Our little Tri is doing well. Virgina and I were commenting today in the taxi how big he is getting. Here is a photo of him in the taxi in the Vietnamese car seat (his mom)!