Steph C.
Yelp
It doesn't surprise me that CHLA has almost all 1-star and 5-star Yelp reviews. When your kid is sick, your opinions tend to get pretty strong. After our first (and why not, let's hope only) visit to CHLA, we are firmly in the 5-star camp.
Our baby Wade B. had surgery last month, when he was only five weeks old. It was a relatively minor procedure, as surgeries on newborns go, an Achilles tenotomy to correct his little clubfoot. Unfortunately, the breathing tube irritated his airway, and we wound up in the CHLA ER at 11 that night on the recommendation of both our doctor friend and the doctor on call at Cedars, where he got his surgery--I guess no other hospital is quite so well equipped to handle an infant emergency.
Parking was free and easy, but we were worried when we saw the crowd spilling out of the waiting room into the garage. We were told before check-in that only one parent would be allowed in the waiting area, but got the go-ahead to register together. There were probably 150 people in that waiting room, and we dreaded a long night stuck in that limbo with a wheezing infant. Apparently, though, a five-week-old baby with breathing problems after general anesthesia is a high-priority patient. There was a nurse's window next to registration--kind of like the second stop of a fast food line--and the nurse on duty got our information, measured Wade's oxygen levels, and escorted us into the hospital.
This was, of course, frightening, but the CHLA staff got to work immediately, giving us all the information we needed while they treated our baby. They gave him epinephrine through a nebulizer, with a tiny mask to fit his tiny face, and the effect was instantaneous. His oxygen rose, his breathing improved, and the scariest part was over within twenty minutes of our arrival. After that, he got an X-ray and a dose of Decadron, an oral steroid (which must have been tasty, as he did not object).
At this point, we were admitted to the hospital and moved from the emergency wing to a more comfortable room, where we spent the night and much of the following day while Baby Wade had his vitals under constant watch. I wouldn't describe this as fun times, but we were very happy to be there instead of at home, worrying about whether our child was breathing. We saw numerous nurses and doctors during our stay, as well as a chaplain and hospitality staff, who cleaned up and brought food and drink. Everyone was really professional and kind, and we felt well taken care of throughout the otherwise upsetting experience of seeing our beloved baby sick and suffering. We always knew what was happening, and the medical staff, led by Dr. Basiago, treated our son with the utmost tenderness and care.
They ran some tests and discovered that he had rhinovirus, which is basically a common cold, and that seems to have combined with the intubation to wreak a little havoc on his airway. By the afternoon, though, everything looked good--someone from the ENT team got a little scope in there, a pretty fancy treatment, according to my doctor friend.
Dr. Basiago gave us the option of going home or staying another night for further monitoring, noting that Wade was no longer in a state that would get him admitted to the hospital. We decided to go home, with plenty of instructions on things to look out for when we no longer had machines reading out all of his vital signs.
He seemed fully recovered by the time we left, with a normal amount of congestion and no apparent distress. Dr. Basiago told us to make a follow-up appointment with our regular pediatrician, and we saw her a couple days later.
It's been a month now since Wade's little ordeal, and he's been healthy and happy at home ever since. We're incredibly grateful to CHLA--we don't know what we would've done without them. There's been a trend, in recent years, toward closing hospital units geared towards children because pediatric care doesn't generate the same profits as healthcare for adults (this is a heartbreaker: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/health/pediatric-closures-hospitals.html). CHLA is a treasure, an invaluable resource for parents and children in Los Angeles. I hope we never have to visit ever again, but we can also breathe easier just knowing this place exists.
