It was night before, the day before, Halloween. Does that make sense? Ok, it was last Thursday night. The kids were tucked into bed, a pumpkin sheet cake was cooling in the kitchen, the last item to ever be baked in my "old" oven. I was packing up snacks and making frosting, the next day was the great costume parade at school and my six year old was eager to participate. His lovely borrowed hedgehog costume was hung on the back of a chair in the living room - waiting.
Then, there came a loud cough from his room. One startling, send parents running, cough. A choking sound. A boy in trouble.
It didn't feel real. A whirl of crazy mom and dad. Chickens with our heads cut off. Boy gasping, reaching for air. Dad lifting him from bunk to our bed. Boy arching his back, desperate to breath. Looking at us scared. Us, looking at him scared. Scramble for the phone.
"Call the doctor!"
"Find a nebulizer!"
"I'm calling the doctor!"
Boy not breathing, scratching at his chest, his throat, the bed. Lurching. Terrified.
"CALL 911!"
And they came, six men in blue uniforms, into our tiny house, past our tiny pumpkin cake, into our tiny bedroom to our tiny boy, with oxygen and medicine, and care, and fast hands at work on a tiny throat.
And I followed him to the ambulance and climbed in as they gave him a snow white tiger to hold on our very scary trip to the E.R. His second ambulance ride, the first when he was three weeks old as he was transfered from a hospital in the city to a hospital in Sonoma County.
And this boy, this very small boy in this very big ambulance, on the eve of a very important holiday, was so brave. He has family members who are firefighters. He has a dad who wears a very similar blue uniform. He felt comfortable in ways some kids might not. But, he was still terrified, in pain, lacking oxygen and tired. He was so tiny.
"Spasmodic Croup" the hurried doctor said. "Rarely this bad, and rarely in a boy this old". Of course - because we seem to be very good at "rarely" these days.
Home. Awake until 6:45 a.m.. Steroids. Amazing sight, a six year old boy at 6a.m. Absolute meth head.
We ate pumpkin cake for breakfast, and lunch, and diner. We didn't make the costume parade, or Halloween. We didn't even make it to school until today.
Baby sisters got it now. Oh joy of all joys. At least it's not "Spasmodic". It's the little things in life, really.
Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Cake:
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/3 cup vegetable oil
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Frosting:
8-ounce package cream cheese, cold
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 ½ cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin and beat until light and fluffy. In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture in three additions, and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
Combine the cream cheese and butter in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled cake.
Cuts well for bake sales.
Oh my goodness, Mel, you have had MORE than your fair share of hospital visits this year. May the remains of 2009 be smooth sailing health-wise for the Courtway clan. Maybe time to lock the door, pull the curtains, hunker down and enjoy the crisper weather and some of the spoils of your kitchen shenanigans that you have been stashing away. Poor Q, what a picture. SO relieved to hear that he is back at school and hope that Dolly kicks it out of her system swiftly.
Posted by: Frances | November 04, 2009 at 09:21 AM