You can't kick the nurse!

Pull up a chair for Christopher!

I have always tried to encourage my boys to be "slow to anger."  If I have told them once, I have told them a thousand times, anger is a normal human emotion, BUT it needs to be expressed and vented in non-violent ways.  I've given them all kinds of creative ways to express what has really got them ticked off.  I've suggested that they go in their rooms and scream into a pillow, run around the block, talk it out, or look for solutions to solve what made them mad in the first place.  I was careful to explain to them that they have to learn to deal with their anger and not allow it to control them.  Being boys, I knew that someday they would turn into men, and a man who can't control his anger is a recipe for disaster.

Six year old Christopher was angry about having to be in the hospital.  He was angry at "Bob" and wanted him to just go away!  Bob was painful, very painful, so Christopher's anger and frustration was understandable.  Besides, it hurts to be in the hospital.  They poke you with needles, stick IVs in your arm, and make you stay in bed all day long.  Why does it have to hurt so much to get better?

Unfortunately, they had to poke Christopher with a lot of needles in order to get an IV going.  The first one they gave him only lasted a day, and then they were right back with their latex gloves, stretchy rubber bands, and NEEDLES!  The search began anew over, and over, and over again.  Just when they thought they had found a good one, it wouldn't flush clean, or it would just give out in no time at all.  Everyone was frustrated, and Christopher was at the end of his rope!

With all his peripheral veins exhausted, they decided to go deeper.  Thankfully, Christopher was sedated for the procedure.  A device called a PICC line was inserted.  Using ultrasound, they identified a vein deep inside Christopher's arm.  Then they threaded the tubing into the vein in his arm and followed it up his arm and into his heart.  There was a slight complication when the IV tubing backed up into his neck instead, but they quickly corrected it.  With the IV securely in place in his heart, the fluids and antibiotics started dripping in again.

The war between antibiotics and bacteria continued, but Bob contained some pretty battle tough bacteria.  Despite repeated doses of antibiotics, Bob grew ever bigger.  He was winning, so the surgeons had to bring out the "big guns" in the operating room.  During his stay, Christopher visited the operating room three separate times to have Bob excised and drained.

It's no wonder then why Christopher was agitated.  It was just too much, and he didn't know what to do with his feelings.  The situation reached the boiling point when Christopher's pain started to get out of control.  They had been giving him Tylenol and Morphine around the clock in order to try to stay on top of the pain, but as it neared the time for his next dose Christopher became impatient.  He wanted that pain medicine, and he wanted it NOW!  The nurse was doing her best to get the medicine for him, but all the nurses were busy at that time with an unexpected emergency.  The longer he waited, the angrier he got.  I tried to distract him and console him, but the pain was bigger than my words of encouragement and pathetic attempts to divert his attention.  Hugs and kisses were no match for this level of pain.

After what seemed like an eternity for both of us, the nurse appeared in the room carrying the syringes loaded with Christopher's relief.  Christopher's appeals for respite had reached a crescendo.  He was out of his bed pacing up and down the floor as far as his IV leash would let him.  He was crying, screaming, and stomping his feet.  I had never seen my child like this, and I was at a total and complete loss as to what to do about it. 

Christopher was holding his little arm out for the nurse to deliver the medicine that would abate his pain.  She pushed the Tylenol in first and then followed with the Morphine.  That's when things really broke down.  One thing you need to know about Morphine...it stings when as you push it through the IV.  That sting sent Christopher over the edge.  He gave that poor nurse a look that could kill, reared back, and kicked her as hard as he could in her leg.

I was shocked, surprised, and embarrassed.  I heard immediate apologies pouring out of my mouth as I tried to control the out of control brute that used to be my sweet, mild mannered little Christopher.  I had faced a lot of different situations in the hospital before, but this was a new one.

The nurse was amazingly gracious, but Christopher was reduced to a puddle of tears and regret.  The nurse very sweetly accepted his apologies.  Then she explained to him that she had taken care of a lot of sick kids, and that she had seen a lot of them get mad about being in the hospital.  It was normal.  It was okay to be angry, but it wasn't okay to act out in that way.  Gee, where have I heard that one before?

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can pray like this:

More tomorrow...