4 years 7 months 15 days

Day 1688. A few days ago Emmy's big toe started hurting from an ingrown nail, and it was getting worse. It was only yesterday I started putting essential oils on it, which I should have started earlier. Randy was pushing to take him to the hospital. This morning, you could see a big blister on his foot, and I gave in. Tammy was crying so hard, when she realized that she was going to kindergarten without her brother. She kept trying to convince me to let her stay home as well, but I didn't budge.

At 8:30 am we all left the house together - a little later than planned, as Randy has a hard time being ready on time. Tammy had finally calmed down and had accepted that she was going to kindergarten by herself. When we reached the subway, both trains were arriving at the same time, and Emmy and I got on the one train, and Randy and the other two on the other. Randy first took Sammy to his kindergarten and then Tammy to hers.

Emmy and I rode the subway for two stops, then walked to the hospital. He correctly stated that this was his fourth time in the emergency room there. Last time we had waited over 3 hours, so we were preparing ourselves for another long wait. We registered, then we were called into the first room everyone goes in, where they assess the situation. Emmy was shy and was sat down on my lap. The doctor saw his toe right away. She asked a few questions and sent us back to the waiting room.

There were lots of people, so we expected another long wait time. Emmy had his tablet, while I had the paper and my phone. After only just under one hour I was surprised, when they called Emmy's name. We walked inside the room, where there were two doctors and a bed in the middle. Emmy was a little fearful, but the doctor was really nice. She told him everything she was doing and constantly tried to calm him down. She then asked Emmy to lie down on the bed. I was holding his hands, as he was a little fearful of what was going to happen. She told him she'd peak a whole into the blister and then wash it out. He wasn't so happy about that. One of the doctors was holding Emmy's legs, so he wouldn't move, while I was holding his hands tight and had my head right by his. He was squirming and whimpering, while they did their job. After they had opened the blister and washed the puss away, they put some creme on it and then bandaged it. Then Emmy was done. She gave me a prescription for a foot bath and that creme, and sent us off.

GIven that it was only just after 10 am, I decided to take Emmy to kindergarten. I knew that Tammy was going to be really happy to see her brother. It wasn't rush hour any more, and it took us until about 10:50 before we finally arrived at the kindergarten. I carried him on my shoulders for much of the walk, upon his request. When we got there, there was Tammy holding hands with another girl, the two of them being in the front of a line. It was obvious that they were about to go outside on their playground. Tammy was happy to see Emmy, but not as much as I had expected. She had been fine being there without him. Another boy was asking about Emmy's toe, when he saw the bandage. I then left him there and left to go home. It took until about 11:45 before I finally got home.

I sure was tired and lay down in bed to close my eyes for a little bit. I never got to sleep. At 12:45 Randy brought Sammy home and left again right away to go get the other two. Sammy then enjoyed himself listening to new children songs on CD, and he enjoys using the buttons to go from song to song. I was getting worried, when Randy and the kids were still not back, but just after 2 pm they finally walked into the apartment. They stayed upstairs for a little bit, while Randy was eating lunch, then he took them downstairs to play. I tried to get some rest and got up at 3:30 to get ready for my student. I then taught from 4 to 6 pm. Of course they were back upstairs before then. As they were pretty hungry, I went to the kitchen right away to start making their food. They then ate, continued eating in the bathtub, and then we got them ready for bed. Emmy had his first footbath for his toe, then I put creme and a bandaid on. I read them bedtime stories and prayed for them. Then they brushed their teeth and went to bed. I was hungry and went to the kitchen to make my salad, which takes time. It was nearly 9 pm before I could finally sit down to eat it. After I was done, I went back to work. Now it's after midnight, and I can barely keep my eyes open. It's time to finish the kitchen and joine the rest of the sleeping family.