Aren't grandmothers supposed to take good care of their grandchildren? I thought I was a pretty good grandmother, until the weekend I took care of Linnea's children.
The week after Stephen left on his mission and mom and dad moved to Snowflake, my oldest daughter, Linnea, left her three children with me while she and her husband went on a long awaited vacation to Lake Powell.
They dropped the kids off on Saturday morning, and we had lots of fun until Monday. I had to turn in my final projects to art class that morning, so one of Linnea's friends watched the kids Sunday night and Monday morning. I stopped to pick them up on my way home from class.
“I'm sorry, but Rylyn seems to be getting sick,” Stephanie told me at her door. “She was feeling OK this morning, but after I dropped Tais off at school, she lay on the couch and didn't even want to get up.”
I felt Rylyn's forehead. It sure was hot.
“I'm sorry, Stephanie,” I apologized. “I appreciate you watching the kids for me, and I hope Rylyn hasn't got your children sick.”
“Oh, no, I suspect it was my kids who gave it to Rylyn,” Stephanie told me as I took the kids out to my car.
I buckled Zan, who was two, and Rylyn, who was four, in, then drove to their elementary school to pick up Tais, who was six. Her school got out half an hour earlier than our elementary school, so I was home just in time to meet my Kami and Krissi as they walked in the door.
Kami, who was in sixth grade, had a project due in two days, making a full scale model of a castle. She could have chosen a partner to work with, but she decided she wanted me to be her partner, so we worked all afternoon gluing sugar cubes together, building a castle.
It turned out really cool, but there was a huge mess in our kitchen by the time we were done. I decided to Bar B Que dinner, so we could eat outside.
Rylyn had lain listlessly on the couch in the TV room all afternoon while we worked. I took her temperature again just before dinner, and it had climbed to 103 degrees.
“Why don't you stay in here and eat your supper on the couch?” I suggested, but she really wanted to be with everyone else, so I finally gave her some Tylenol and bundled her up in a quilt so she could come outside.
After dinner, I took her inside to get her cleaned up and into pajamas. I left Zan and Tais with the big girls, but while I was getting Rylyn bathed Kami carried in a screaming Zan.
“Zan fell out of the swing while I was swinging him,” Kami explained when I asked her what had happened.
“Was he swinging very high when he fell?” I asked as I picked him up.
“No, I don't think so.”
Zan wouldn't stop crying and holding onto me. I put him in the tub to clean him up, and couldn't see anything wrong, but he wouldn't stand up by himself and wanted to be held all the time. I finally gave him some Ibuprofen and he fell asleep while I walked with him.
“I think if something was broken he wouldn't be able to sleep,” I told Moe later that evening. “And nothing seems to be swollen.”
I tried calling Linnea, but couldn't get through on her cell phone. Finally I put Zan to bed and took care of Rylyn. Her temperature went up so hot in the middle of the night that I put her in a cool bath to bring it down, as well as giving her Ibuprofen and Tylenol. That finally helped, and at last she fell asleep on the couch. It was a long night.
The next morning Zan woke up happy, but he wouldn't stand on his leg. I had to get the girls off to school, and then take Tais to her school. As I was driving out my driveway I passed our next door neighbor putting out his garbage. He was a pediatrician, so I asked if he would take a look at Zan's leg.
“I don't know, Gale,” Dale told me after looking Zan over. “I think his leg might be broken. You should take him to the emergency room so they can x-ray it.”
I drove Tais to school, then came home and tried to a hold of Linnea and Jason to see where to take Zan and what to do about insurance. Cell phone reception was not good up at Lake Powell, but I finally got through to them and got their insurance numbers. Then I called our local hospital to see if they could x-ray little kids legs, and if they could do it since I was just the grandma and his parents were out of town.
They said yes, so I took Zan and Rylyn down to the hosptial.
It was about 11:00 am when we got there. They got Zan in right away to X-ray his leg. He was a little angel, and sat on the table and never made a peep. Then we sat in the waiting room. Zan didn't seem to be in much pain, and Rylyn was feeling a little better.
We waited, and waited. I had put Zan in a little chair at a child's table, where he could play with some toys. After awhile he forgot about his hurt leg and tried to stand up before I could get to him. He collapsed on the floor and began to cry and cry. By that time the ibuprofen I had given him had worn off, but the nurse wouldn't let me give him more until he saw a doctor.
Eventually we were put in an examination cubicle, where we had to wait again. Rylyn finally fell asleep on the bed. A nurse came and told us Zan's leg was broken, and she had some Ibuprofen to give him. That perked him right up, and soon he was singing and playing while we waited for them to set his leg. They couldn't cast it at the hospital, but they put a brace around it until he could see his regular doctor, then they finally sent us home.
Linnea and Jason got home just as we finished at the hospital, so I drove the kids over to their house.
“I'm so sorry,” I told them over and over again as we brought Zan and Rylyn into their house. “You're not supposed to have to worry about your kids when you leave them with their grandma, but I sure did a bad job taking care of them this time.” Thank goodness they still loved me.
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