"The expert care we needed was right where we needed it."

by Olivia, mother of 18-month-old Gabriel

Gabriel caught RSV when
he was only
11-months-old.

With an infant, it's so hard to know when something is wrong, or really, really wrong. When Gabriel was only 11-months-old, his daycare called me and said he was coughing and breathing heavy. I didn't know what to think so we took him to our pediatrician. She suggested we take him to The Children's Hospital to check his oxygen levels.

The Children's Hospital in our backyard

Fortunately, right near us at Parker Adventist Hospital is one of the several locations for The Children's Hospital. We were able to go directly there and check into The Children's Hospital emergency department. It's obvious the minute you walk in that you're in a place just for kids. They had an oxygen indicator just his size. And once we discovered his intake levels were very low, they knew exactly how much oxygen to give his little, 11-month-old lungs.

After he was diagnosed with RSV, we were checked into the hospital. The nurses who looked after us were wonderful. And I say "us" because they truly took care of our family-not just Gabriel. They were always checking in with me and making sure "Mom was OK."

Laughter at the right location

We stayed at The Children's Hospital at Parker Adventist for five days. It was hard seeing my little baby hooked up to so many tubes. But, when the nurses would come sing to him or play peek-a-boo and I'd see him smile and laugh, I knew it would be OK.

It's funny, I really felt I got to know the nurses and the expert care that The Children's Hospital is notorious for. Yet, I'd still tell people that we had never been to THE Children's Hospital. That's because I always considered the downtown location as The Children's Hospital. Now I realize it's not a location that takes care of your kids, it's the people. And those same people are just down the street from us at The Children's Hospital in Parker Adventist. It's wonderful.