Little jack was throwing up lots and had the runs.
So I guess we can discuss all there is to discuss about:
- vomit
- diarrhoea
- gastroenteritis
- differential diagnoses
- fluid balance/restoration
And apparantly it's hard managing full time work with parenthood, and the financial contraints of it all, so, feel free to discuss that too!!!
Much love,
Tim
Part A.
Two-year-old Jack still wasn’t well. His mother, Margaret¾a caring but somewhat harassed parent of four children, realised that she would have to keep him home from the day-care centre again. While at work the previous day, Margaret had received a telephone call from the centre’s manager asking her to come and collect her son who had vomited twice during the morning and was obviously unwell.
At that stage Margaret had not been unduly concerned, knowing from past experience that children were often throwing up one day and perfectly well again the next. She explained to her boss that she would have to leave early because her son was sick, and suffered the predictable reaction of a deep sigh as he reluctantly acquiesced, “If you have to go, I suppose you have to go. But remember our deadline for that brochure…”
Putting her boss and his perceived unsympathetic attitude out of her mind, Margaret collected Jack, took him home and tucked him up in bed. It was clear that the vomiting was not to be an isolated event. Jack continued to be sick on and off all afternoon. He also had several bouts of diarrhoea and became increasingly miserable. When his older brothers and his sister came home from school and tried to cheer him up, Jack just gave them a weak grin and turned his head away.
Despite Margaret’s efforts to entice Jack to drink, he seemed uninterested, even when offered lemonade. Margaret and Ralph, Jack’s father, were up and down to their small son several times throughout the night. Eventually, Jack fell into a fitful sleep and the other members of the family were able to get some rest as well.
Next morning, Margaret could see immediately that her going to work was out of the question; she rang her boss, quickly explained why she would not be in, and put the telephone down before he could start complaining. She knew it was no good asking Ralph to stay home with Jack on this particular day, because Ralph was scheduled to make an important presentation in Sydney that afternoon and had booked an early flight.
Jack tried to eat a little breakfast but seemed unable to hold anything down. Realising that this was more serious than they had first thought, Ralph rang their family doctor and arranged for Margaret to take Jack to the first available appointment at 3.30 that afternoon. Ralph then grabbed his briefcase, straightened his tie, pecked his wife and son on the cheek and rushed out of the front door, looking extremely guilty.
Throughout the day Jack continued to have intermittent bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea and he remained uninterested in food or drink.
