Thank You, Sonora Regional Medical Center ER

A collage and mask made by Paradise.

On Thursday night, our three year old daughter, Paradise, was jumping on our bed - despite warnings not to - and fell, just on the mattress, but badly enough so that she was unable to move her head and did not want us to lift her.

We were relieved that she could still move her arms and legs, but were sufficiently concerned about her neck to call 911. Within minutes, a fire and ambulance team arrived and (with Hudson timing them: it took precisely the three minutes they said it would) strapped Paradise to a rigid "pediatric board" with head and neck restraints, so that they could move her safely.

We were taken to ER at Sonora Regional Medical Center, where Paradise was given immediate and very gentle and caring attention. She required X-rays and then a CT scan, but thankfully, in the end, all was good and, aside from a sore neck, Paradise is fine.

We just want to thank everyone involved, including the fire and ambulance responders, and everyone in Sonora Regional ER, not least the wonderful Dr Stephanie Stuart (good name:) and the nurses and the team in X-ray and CT imaging. They could not have been nicer or more concerned for Paradise's welfare or friendlier to both her and me. We were exhausted by the time we left, just before 1am, but immensely relieved that nothing serious had happened.

I was amused - although still traumatized - when the first question Dr Stuart asked Paradise when we arrived was, "Don't you know the story of the monkeys jumping on the bed?"

She does - the book is Ten Little Monkeys: Jumping On The Bed - and she also knows the book's refrain: "Momma called the doctor and the doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed.'"

Hopefully, a lesson learned. Hopefully!

Comments

The High Tower Apartments and The Long Goodbye

Photograph by Dwayne Moser. This beautiful apartment complex in Los Angeles is called the Hightower or High Tower Complex (the High Tower name refers to the central elevator, I believe), and was designed in 1935-1936 by architect Carl Kay - and made famous in 1973 by my favorite film, Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (see Why I Love Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye ). Although Altman used the building as Philip Marlowe's apartment in his somewhat post-modern Long Goodbye (the film plays with references to Old Hollywood and opens and closes with the song, Hooray For Hollywood ), the building has another direct connection to Raymond Chandler. It was apparently the inspiration for Chandler in his book, The High Window (the first Chandler novel I ever read), in which Chandler describes the residence of Philip Marlowe as being on the cliffs above High Tower Drive in a building with a fancy elevator tower. (Thanks to the Society of Architectural Historians Southern...

Andrew Hale and Sade

Sade in concert in San Jose. All concert photos Copyright © 2011 Alexander Chow-Stuart. On Thursday evening, we saw our longtime friend Andrew Hale perform with Sade at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, in one of the most beautifully conceived and produced concert performances I have ever seen. Sade is a rare musician, in that she and the band only write, record and tour every eight to ten years, so that in a very real sense you can measure your life by her. The band's music is always fresh and always newly conceived - for their previous album, Lovers Rock , they stripped everything down musically to a minimalist sound and banished the saxophone that had been so much a part of Sade's heavily soul- and jazz-influenced style. The latest album, Soldier of Love , released in 2010, is one of the most tender, moving collections of songs yet, from the astonishingly beautiful Morning Bird , which features exquisite keyboards from Andrew, to the soulful, retro, r...

Hyperbole And A Half - Why I'll Never Be An Adult

All images copyright 2010-2012 Allie and Hyperbole And A Half. These images are from one of my absolute favorite online comic strips/blogs/sites, Hyperbole And A Half by Allie . This particular post is called: This Is Why I'll Never Be An Adult - and these are just a few selected panes from a very funny and telling sequence: To check out the entire strip, go to this particular link for Hyperbole And A Half. You might also want to check out the Hyperbole And A Half Store , which has many goodies such as this wonderful Bird T-shirt . Other designs can be applied to whole variety of products, such as T-shirts, mugs and iPhone cases (please note that not all designs are available for every product). I love the Bird T-shirt because it makes me think of our much adored lovebird, Miso, who I'm certain spends a great deal of his life squawking these words in a language we can't comprehend because we're too stupid: Please visit Hyperbole And A ...

Alexander Stuart

Search This Blog