One week to the day after Jane and Colin's wedding was yet another special occasion. It happened to be Easter. This of course meant yet another traditional family gathering. Normally Easter would take place at my grandmother's the same as Thanksgiving and Christmas but this year grandma wasn't feeling up to it. She is over 80 years old and does most of the baking and cleaning at her home for the holidays. But she had had a nasty bug in March that had left her feeling puny so she asked my mother to host our annual Easter bash. My mother loves to throw parties. However if she does that means automatically I am expected to come home and clean her house. I don't like to clean my house. Why would I want to clean hers? None the less I am expected and unless I want a major guilt trip for non-compliance to the house rules I'd better show up ready and willing to wash windows and clean toilet bowls. It is for this reason that I ended up going home a day earlier than I normally do from Wolf Lake. And it was for this reason that I was not aware that yet once again Matt was bringing Emily and Laurel as his guests.
I was taking the last of the table service to the back room where the big TV is when the doorbell rang. Being that I was closest to the door I opened it to find Matt standing there smiling with Emily next to him holding the infant carrier in her left hand. "Surprise!" He laughed as they came in the house.
"Soon I'll stop being surprised when you show up with these two. I'm going to start expecting you to bring them." I said in sign as I showed them where to put the food that one of them had brought and left them with the rest of the family that was milling around the kitchen being more underfoot than of assistance to my mother and grandmother. Even though Granny had been ill she still wanted to be at my parent's place as soon as Church was over so she could get to work on the dressing, noodles and pies that she'd cook. I think that even if she were on her deathbed she'd still attempt to cook.
I went on with my original task. I took longer than needed so that I was out of the kitchen. When I finally returned to the living room, the rest of the family had gathered and we were ready for the saying of Grace. This task usually falls to my Uncle John or my Aunt Dana's husband, Troy, but this time they declined and my father was nominated. I stepped up to him and whispered in his ear, "Find Emily. She'll need to read your lips. So make sure you are facing her when you give the Grace."
"Okay, Babe. Thanks for the reminder. I wouldn't have thought about her if you hadn't said something."
"Gee thanks Dad. What am I chopped liver?"
"You know what I meant," he replied. I nodded and thought you have never made sure that I have understood the saying of Grace in the past and you've known that I am Deaf for the last 13 years. But I kept quiet as Dad went toward the kitchen and located Emily and my Grandmother who is also hard of hearing due to Diabetes. But he didn't look to see if I was there. I was but still...
After Grace we all chowed down. The food was like always... tons of it. There were mashed potatoes, greenbeans, rolls, corn, noodles and hamburger. There was Turkey, ham, and deviled eggs, that I was nominated to make though I hadn't even put my name in for consideration. People brought Spanish rice, taco salad, Cole slaw, candied sweet potatoes. Potato salad and grandma's homemade dressing were also in abundance. For desert there was pecan pie, cherry cheesecake, chocolate Cake, cookies, rice crispy treats, Jell-O shaped like eggs, and angel food cake among other things. It is no wonder nine tenths of my family is overweight all we do is eat!
I went to the backroom with my food. The noise my family produces tends to grate on my nerves very quickly. No one realizes that when you are use to being in a very quiet world that the suddenness of sound and so much of it can be very overwhelming. I get over stimulated fast which makes me uncomfortable. If I go to the room with the least people and the fewest number of children I am usually left feeling okay.
I wasn't alone for long Emily and Matt joined me. Matt was carrying 2 plates of food while Emily had Laurel. The baby was amazingly slept through the entire racket. Emily placed her on the couch directly behind her chair. The baby could sleep and Emily wouldn't have to worry about her rolling off the couch since her chair would be in the way. "Do you mind if we join you? There is too much noise in the other rooms. Laurel isn't feeling well," Emily asked.
"You can sit with me. It's too noisy for me in the dining area, too. What's wrong with Laurel?"
"She has a cold."
"Poor baby."
"I think she caught it in the nursery at Jane's wedding."
"Oh, maybe. Have you seen Jane since she got back from her honeymoon?"
"Yes, she and Colin both. They are happy."
"Good," I answered and then ate my dinner.
Later, after we were all stuffed and feeling like taking long naps Matt came to me as I played on my father’s computer, "Will you watch Laurel for a little bit? I want to take Emily out to Mount Airy and then to Stanfeld-Connelly Cemetery. I think she'll like the primitive aspect of that place."
"Sure, she's a good baby. And I think your right. She might find the old Connelly homestead there interesting since it probably is the size of the bathroom at her home now."
"Emily said she'd not go with me unless you looked after Laurel. She doesn't want to take her out anymore than she has too with her cold."
"That's understandable Matt."
"I know it is. Emily is a good mother."
"Yeah she is. She is doing the best she can do. That's all anyone can ask of her. Laurel is a lucky little girl."
"Emily says she thinks Laurel looks like her father."
"Well considering Emily and Jack looked a lot alike that's a matter of conjecture. She has Emily's eyes and mouth. I hope her eyes stay blue. They seem to be getting lighter so I think they will be."
"I think so too. Well, I'll tell Emily you'll look after Laurel. She's trying to feed her right now but with her cold Laurel isn't eating much. And Emily is having to keep the little cuz's from playing with the baby. You know how they are. They want to pick and tickle and all that stuff."
"Yep I do," I replied as we went back together to the TV room and chased off a cousin or two so that maybe Laurel would nurse a little bit instead of fussing at whomever was tickling her feet.
After another 15 minutes of trying to get Laurel to nurse Emily gave up and passed the baby to me. I was delighted to get to play with her even if it meant just holding her and changing a diaper. I love babies but most of my family seems to think I don't have the ability to take care of anything. One time when my cousin Marissa was a baby I had asked to hold her and my Aunt Dana let me. I was I think 14 or 15, I forget now. Anyway, along came my Aunt Abby in all of about a minute and took Marissa from me. From then on it was like a game of keep away. Aunt Abby was determined that everyone but me should get to hold Marissa. By the end of the night my mother was seeing red because it was obvious that her sister was purposely making sure I didn't get to see the baby. It doesn't seem to matter that I'm an adult now, given the chance Aunt Abby still treats me as if I'm 5 and incapable of being in charge of another human being. I half expected her to see that I was taking care of Laurel and whisk the baby out of my arms even though I had been given specific instructions that no one was to hold her but me.
Emily and Matt hadn't even been gone fifteen minutes when Laurel started to fuss. The poor little thing was miserable. I bounced her. I rocked her. I walked the floor with her. I even sang to her knowing she’d feel the vibrations even if she couldn’t hear my voice. I had her over my shoulder and in my arms. Nothing seemed to make her happy. Aunt Abby came up to me as I tried to calm her. "Let me try," she said reaching for the baby.
"I'm sorry. Her mother left specific instruction that I was to be the only one to take care of her. Laurel knows me and normally is quite content for me. She's got a cold," I answered secretly delighted that Abby couldn't call the shots.
"Oh, well when you get tired of her screaming in your ear. I'll take her."
"That won't be a problem. I can turn off my hearing aid and her screams will only bother you," I said with a smile and watched my aunt turn on her heel in anger.
Laurel happened to wet her diaper about then so I laid her down to change her. She was wearing a romper set so I had about 20 snaps to work through to get her outfit off. Carrie was watching me over my shoulder. "Is she supposed to suck in her chest like that?" Carrie asked.
I glanced up at the baby's chest and watched for a second or two, "No, great... She doesn't have a cold. I think she has RSV and now pneumonia."
"What is RSV? How can you tell she has it?" Carrie asked as I quickly snapped Laurel's bottoms and stood to find a thermometer.
"Respiratory Synovial Virus. It is a viral infection that can cause pneumonia in infants. By age two most children have had RSV in some form. I don't know that she has it but she's sucking in her chest wall that's an indication she's not able to breathe well. After you said something about that I watched her breathe, she's also flaring her nostrils, which is another indication she's not getting enough air. Plus, she's running a temperature and if you look at her fingers her nails have a blue tint. Everything is saying she's one sick little girl."
"What can we do?"
"Try and make her comfortable as possible and hope Matt doesn't keep Emily out sightseeing long. Emily needs to take her to the Emergency Room."
"Shouldn't we take her? If she isn't getting enough oxygen wouldn't it be best to take her now and have someone tell Matt and Emily when they get back to meet us there?"
Carrie was right but I felt uncomfortable taking Emily's child to the ER without her but I was more concerned that the baby wasn’t getting enough oxygen. "Yeah, let's go. You'll go with me, right?"
"Yes, I will," Carrie replied as I put the baby in her carrier and put a blanket over her.
Aunt Dana saw us getting ready to leave, "What's going on?"
"The baby is real sick. Rachel thinks she has pneumonia. I talked her into taking Laurel to the emergency room. Will you tell Matt and Emily so they can get there as soon as possible?"
"Sure. Go," Dana said hearing the baby's raspy breath.
We arrived at the small community hospital and filled out as much of the paper work that I could answer for Emily. I told the staff that when the mother arrived they'd need an interpreter because Emily is Deaf. They rolled their eyes at that but I pressed the issue. "I'd make sure you have an interpreter here, her mother is a Deaf Activist and will have no qualms about making a complaint if you are not in ADA compliance." I wasn't so sure what I said was the truth given that Emily is passive but a small threat wouldn't hurt.
"Oh, there will be an interpreter. But they have to drive from Brookton. I'll make the call now," the receptionist said over the crying Laurel.
"Good," I answered rocking the baby in my arms.
Twenty minutes later Emily and Matt rushed in. Emily looked petrified. We'd not been called back yet so I passed her the baby and explained everything I could about why I thought she had pneumonia and not just a cold. As soon as I got done explaining a nurse appeared and called Laurel's name. I tapped Emily and said, "Now!" Then I turned to the nurse, "Has the interpreter arrived?"
"No. We can pass notes."
I explained to Emily, "The interpreter is not here yet. Do you want me to go with you?"
"As my friend not as my interpreter. They can write notes if I don't understand."
"Okay," I replied and then we followed the nurse.