Whew!! Quite an overwhelming few days at our house. 

I expected that John would arrive back in Salmon Arm quite late on Monday night, but I was unaware that he didn't get back until after midnight.  When I arrived at the hospital at 7am, I found that his bed was empty. His roommate informed me that he was in ICU! In a panic, I flew down the hall and learned that in order to have him hooked up to a heart monitor, they had to keep him in ICU. To my relief, there were no post-surgery problems. 

Meanwhile, at home, our grandson was still suffering from diarrhea and gastric pain. He refused to eat and alternated between bouts of crying, rare smiles and short naps. His parents were exhausted and his mother had developed a migraine complete with bouts of nausea. It was such a helpless feeling, not being able to ease either of their pain.

At 1:30pm, John was released from the hospital. The house was quiet when we arrived home. Megan and Chris had taken Augie for a drive to give Heather an opportunity for sleep. I settled John into the downstairs bedroom. 

Apparently Augie slept almost the entire time in the car but soon resumed his painful crying. Before dinner they decided to take him to the walk-in clinic where the Doctor checked his ears and throat, confirming that it was probably a teething problem. Last night was another round of sleep interruptions.

This morning I asked my friend Diana, mother of four, what she would recommend and she immediately said "gripe water". Chris ran out to get some and Augie swallowed two teaspoons before they left. We received a phone call when they arrived home. Augie slept most of the way and was  a much happier little guy. I hope this is  a magic potion to help them through the rest of the teething stages.

Since they left, John has wandered through the house, listening to music and gazing at the view. Later he insisted that we should  pick up our new car at the Honda dealership. Thanks to our friend Karen for driving us down to finalize the insurance. We took a short trip around town before bringing my exhausted patient back home to rest in front of a Canucks playoff game! He is a happy camper!