30 Dec Audrey goes to the aquarium…and the ER
My sister, Alex, is off of work until next week. So we decided to try a fun outing with the kiddos yesterday and head to the children’s aquarium at Fair Park. It’s small, not too much to see and not too crowded compared to the World Aquarium downtown.
Keegan is a big Nemo fan, so we thought it would be a hit for him. Not so much. He wanted to grab fistfuls of gravel from the horseshoe crab tank in the entry and soaked his tshirt. He had no interest in the fish, turtles, or alligator but had a meltdown when we told him we had to move on from the empty tank he was apparently fascinated with. Audrey did a lot of pointing, running, and “wow”-ing.
The last stop was the sting ray and shark tanks. Keegan was mesmerized by the rays, as was Audrey by the sharks. She especially loved it when the tiger sharks would swoosh by really fast and spook her. One really caught her off guard, and she stumbled backwards a bit. It was a slightly awkward fall. Audrey didn’t even seem that upset, but she wouldn’t let me put her down at all. We had some lunch and put her down for her nap at home. When she woke up, she was just beside herself whenever we asked her to stand or walk.
And so, Audrey made her first trip to the Children’s ER. Of course, the ER staff at Legacy are our good friends (sad, no?), so Audrey received a LOT of attention at first. A quick exam said she likely had a toddler’s fracture. X-rays were ordered, done, and surprisingly, negative for a break! Just a sprain or pulled muscle of some kind. One dose of motrin, and she was toddling out the door. Waving and blowing kisses. That was one really expensive dose of motrin, little girl!
We were instructed to give her scheduled motrin for 24 hours, but I didn’t even give her two. She is more than fine today. Truly never a dull moment in the Harrison house!
It was interesting to be there though with her. Driving onto the campus at the speed limit. Not compulsively checking the ambulance bay to see if there is a transport team on hand. Actually waiting in the waiting room for her name to be called, instead of the receptionist seeing us run in and just immediately taking us through the doors to triage or even straight to a room. Knowing that no matter what, we would be walking out the door to go home in a few hours at most.
It truly was different. And refreshing. So thank you, Audrey. For showing us that life can have just normal, everyday childhood moments that can be weathered with a few extra hugs, kisses…and just a little motrin.