Friday’s Fostering Blog
After another couple of days in hospital Charlie’s pain was under control and he was discharged. It was good news that he did not need surgery, but that did mean the kidney stones would have to pass naturally! It was now a waiting game. If I had a pound for every kidney stone anecdote I heard, or every person who told me how painful passing kidney stones is, likening it to child birth – I would be very rich! I couldn’t help but remember how painful child birth was, the only pain relief I got was two paracetamol due to short intense labours. On the other hand, Charlie had been given morphine as well a concoction of other analgesics, so I did not have the most sympathy. I decided sympathy was not what was needed from me at the moment, what was needed more was for me to keep the household running as normal. After all it seemed Charlie was getting enough sympathy from everyone else.
It was expected that the stones would pass in the next few days. Charlie’s pain however seemed to intensify. One of the drugs he was discharged with was codeine. As the days went on it seemed that the more codeine he took the more the pain got worse. After a trip back to the GP, it seemed that he was sensitive to codeine and that was the cause of the more recent pain and not the stones! By this point it seemed the stones themselves had passed! That was a relief – for all of us! In our shared humour, Annie, Lauren and I bought Charlie a celebratory helium balloon declaring “It’s a boy!” Not sure Charlie found it quite so hilarious as we did, but am sure in time he will appreciate the gesture! Poor Alice didn’t get the joke at all. As with many children with attachment issues she really struggles with any humour other than slapstick. When you have to forensically explain a joke, it kind of loses its impact!
We know when Alice eventually repeats the joke when she returns to school next week, she will enjoy the reaction she gets and she will feign laughing in an over the top way when others “get” the joke. She will then recount the explanation of the joke, even when people have got it! Despite the fact that we find it really annoying, it is important for her to feel like she’s included. We hope that her humour will develop over time and that one day she be able to naturally join in!
A Less Ordinary Family Foster Care Blog
