The Buddy Bee Makes Three: Mr. Yellow Crayon

April 11th was a crazy Wednesday morning for the Park household.

Andrew had just left for work, Buddy Bee woke up crazy early for him, I never got a shower because

well, Buddy Bee was up early. Buddy Bee was sporting his pouty face, and of course Newfie's escaped. Andrew valiantly came back home to chase our three little escape artists while Buddy Bee and I started our morning by cuddling and reading books. By 9:00 am Andrew was headed back to work, Newfies were back where they belonged, and I started Buddy Bee's breakfast.

Buddy Bee has the same thing for breakfast every morning; scrambled eggs, half an english muffin, and part of a banana. While I started his eggs Buddy Bee wanted to color on the kitchen floor. It was soon after that he decided that his crayons would be more tasty then scrambled eggs for breakfast. When Buddy Bee started coughing and choking I rushed to his side and pretty soon he had spit out several small pieces of yellow crayon. I comforted my boy for several minutes and he was soon off to discover new things. It was shorty after that I noticed my little Bee was having some trouble breathing and was very wheezy. I immediately called Andrew and our little adventure began.

Within an hour we had arrived at an emergency room in Scranton and were checked in. Buddy Bee quickly was nicknamed Mr. Yellow Crayon and soon we were given a room in the ER for his exam. At this point Buddy Bee's wheezing was not consistent. Unfortunately, the nurse who did his exam brushed off our concerns because during her few minutes in the room with us she could not hear him wheezing. We personally believe that our Buddy Bee was then given a low priority level and thus we waited for almost 2 hours before we would see the physician's assistant. It was very difficult for us to understand why we had to wait so long when the ER was almost empty when we arrived. The physician's assistant, who saw the Bee first was very kind, brought Buddy Bee an orange pop, and did a thorough exam on the Buddy Bee. We were 3 hours into this ordeal and the weird thing is Buddy Bee's wheezing had definitely lessened but was still randomly present when he took a breath in. It was so frustrating as parents to hear your child having difficulty breathing but no one believing you. Countless times Andrew ran out of our ER room to try and grab a medical person to listen to our Buddy Bee as he was wheezing.

Finally, someone heard our little boy's wheezing and soon Buddy Bee was headed in for x-rays. Of course, crayon does not always show up on x-rays and there was no evidence in Buddy Bee's x-rays of his yellow crayon. By this time the ER was filling up and it would be another 2 hours before we saw the ER doctor for a total of 5 hours in the emergency room.

We were very thankful we had a private room but by hour 5 Buddy Bee had done all his exploring, walked every inch of the ER hallways, watched as much tv as a little boy can handle, camped out under the sink, missed his nap time, was generally miserable, and still had a yellow crayon stuck in his little body. Once we saw the doctor and he finally heard the little boys wheezing, the next events moved quickly. The doctor agreed that something was wrong but he was not convinced their was a piece still present. He first wanted to start a dose of steroids in case the wheezing was just present because of inflammation from Buddy Bee's choking. While we waited for the steroids the doctor also decided he was going to consult with a pediatric surgeon at the Janet Weis Children's Hospital in Danville, PA .

The reality of the seriousness of Buddy Bee's condition hit us hard when we started the process of transferring to Janet Weis. This was no longer just a simple trip to the emergency room; our little boy was going to have surgery. As a mother you really don't want to hear a doctor tell you that transferring your son in the ambulance could possibly end his life if the piece of crayon moved during transport. We had to have faith that our little boy would be protected because leaving the piece of crayon in did not offer a much better prognosis. Andrew and I then made the decision that I would travel with the Bee while Andrew returned back home to grab a few items that we would need for Buddy Bee's stay in the hopstial. Andrew started the 40 minute drive back home while I struggled with a tearful and tired little boy as we waited for the ambulance.

We hit the 7 hour mark in our little adventure by the time the ambulance arrived to take us the hour and a half trip to Danville. And of course the Bee had just closed his eyes to sleep when the EMT's arrived. I woke up my sleeping boy which, did not go well, and got him settled into his car seat as they strapped him and his car seat onto the stretcher. After the initial shock of having to wake up, Buddy Bee was actually really excited to be leaving the hospital. Right before we got on the ambulance, Buddy Bee looked at me and in his little wheezy voice said, "Truck!". Yes, my little Buddy Bee we will be riding in a very important truck.

I can't imagine what was going through the Bee's little head as he traveled in the ambulance. He kept looking over at the EMT as if to say, "who are you and why are we riding in your truck?". He loved being able to watch the trucks pass on the highway out the back window and his eyes did not stop moving over all the equipment in the ambulance. Buddy Bee did fabulous for the first half of our trip but by the second half he was screaming which was aggravating the coughing and wheezing. My heart broke for my little boy; he had been cooped up in a small room all day, was having difficulty breathing, had been poked, prodded, had not slept, had not eaten, had a crayon stuck somewhere in his body, and just wanted "mommy's milk" which, because of the upcoming surgery I could not give him.

Thanks to the speedy driving of the EMT's we arrived at Janet Weis Children's Hospital right about when the Bee was going to completely melt down. As my little boy was being wheeled into the hospital I knew immediately that our experience here would be different. The environment of Janet Weis was like no hopstial I hadever been to. We were taken to the second floor where a room full of nurses was waiting. Buddy Bee had the best nurses taking care of him. There is something special about pediatric nurses. They were great with our little boy and they knew how to interact with him to make him feel comfortable. They had toys waiting for him and even 2 that he got to take home along with a teddy bear and a micky mouse blanket.

The next few hours were a blur as Buddy Bee was seen by several doctors. The thing that I remember most was that every doctor we saw had no doubt that my boy had a piece of crayon stuck in his body. The doctors heard his wheezing immediately and they could even tell from the x-rays taken at the ER that his right lung was not functioning properly. My boy was going to be given the best care possible. It was quickly determined that the Bee needed to have surgery and within 2 hours Buddy Bee was heading into the OR. Now, like the little trooper he is our Buddy Bee walked down to the OR himself. Thankfully, Andrew arrived at the hospital right before the anesthesiologist put Buddy Bee under so we could each tell our boy we loved him and spend some time comforting him as we waited for the surgeon to arrive.

I held our little boy as the anesthesiologist gave him a sedative through the IV that had already been painstakingly put into Buddy Bee's right hand. I was thankful that the doctor told us that Buddy Bee's head would become really wobbly because within seconds the death grip Buddy Bee had on me disappeared and we had a limp little boy. I laid him down in the hospital crib, Andrew and I both gave him a kiss, and he was taken into surgery. We would find out later that Buddy Bee was quite the little entertainer before they put him to sleep.

I was not as nervous having my little boy in surgery as I thought I would be and within a half hour the surgeon came out to the waiting room bearing a small, yellow gift. The surgery went perfectly. They were able to remove the whole piece of crayon without it breaking up or moving further into his lungs. That is the hardest part for me to fathom; my little boy had aspirated a piece of crayon into his right lung. 12 hours before this we were heading to the ER for a piece of crayon that we thought was stuck in his throat and here they had just removed it from his lung. We will be forever thankful for God's protection on our little boy.

As Andrew and I walked back into the OR recovery room we expected a groggy Buddy Bee but as we went through the door we could hear his hoarse little cries. Buddy Bee was awake, alert, what we can only imagine as feeling horrible, not able to talk, and wanting his Mommy. It was so hard to watch our little boy coming out of the anestesia. For the next hour Andrew and I struggled to make our boy comfortable. He refused water, pops, Daddy, and anything other than Mommy so, Buddy Bee and I rocked and nursed until we were given the okay to head back to his room.

Once we arrived back at the Bee's room we realized we were going to have a long night ahead of us. Our poor little Bee had been through so much and by this time whenever someone new walked through the door of his room he would scream and grab hold of me like they were going to rip him from my arms. We knew the Bee would not sleep in the hospital crib so we were thankful the hospital had a pull out full size bed for parents. So we got ready for bed and tried to make our Bee comfortable between us. Even though Buddy Bee was so tired he kept pulling at the hand that had his IV in it. It was at this time that Andrew realized that our Bee could not even suck his thumb because of how they had his IV covered. We were finally able to get our boy to sleep but our night would be full of tears, trying to make our boy comfortable, nurses check-ups, and adjusting monitor wires.

The morning finally came and with it our happy little Buddy Bee was slowly returning.

And what better way could a little boy start his day in the hospital than with an episode of "Curious George",

an ultimate favorite for the Bee.

Buddy Bee only spent 20 minutes in the crib but it allowed Andrew and I to get ready for the day and pack up all our stuff so once Buddy Bee was discharged we could go home!

A slight smile (the first for 2 days) from the Buddy Bee.

Buddy Bee loves "Curious George"!

Buddy Bee's right hand is in the cast because of his IV.

Buddy Bee enjoying his new toys from the hospital.

Buddy Bee growing very weary of all the wires attached to him.

Buddy Bee could not even walk around the room with all the monitor wires so, we asked if he could be detached so he could go play in the playroom and thankfully they agreed!

Buddy Bee was so excited to be able to walk more than 2 feet from the monitor.

Buddy Bee heading to the playroom.

Personally, I think he could have been happy to just walk the hallways but I couldn't withhold the ultimate playroom from him!

How cute is his little hospital gown?

So very thankful for Buddy Bee's protection during out little adventure and also for Andrew's support.

Daddy doesn't look tired does he?

I couldn't resist the open gown tush photo!

Buddy Bee loved this little car.

Mommy and the Bee watching the fish.

At this point Buddy Bee was still not saying much (I can only imagine how sore his throat was) but as soon as he saw the fish he couldn't stop telling us, "Feesh, Feesh, Feesh".

We were soon heading back to Buddy Bee's room but he was perfectly happy to return because he was finally able to eat solid foods again. And Buddy Bee's first choice of foods was Cheese!

Buddy Bee snacking on some Cheerios.

Buddy Bee was so thirsty so for a special treat he had his first Chocolate Milk.

Mommy and her Bee.

He finished his milk so, he continued drinking with his water.

Mommy's tired photo.

Buddy Bee was given the all clear from his doctors and soon we were heading home!

Buddy Bee's going home balloon from the hospital.

Buddy Bee's balloon was the perfect example of the smile on all of our faces.

As a parent it is an amazing feeling to leave the hospital with a healthy child. Our family of three was heading home!

Thankfully, Buddy Bee slept most of the way home but he was so excited once we arrived!

Our boy was still not feeling the best however, so the next couple of day were filled with popsicles and Curious George.

Buddy Bee and the yellow crayon.

Buddy Bee proudly displaying his yellow crayon even though he had no idea that that little piece of crayon was the reason behind the past several days worth of events.