Saab Magalona knows exactly how a mom of two or more children feels when either of them got sick and had to be confined to the hospital, leaving at home the others.
The musician/podcaster/content producer recently shared on Instagram some series of events involving her and her husband Jim Bacarro's sons Pancho and Vito.
Saab recalled Vito falling ill with flu (trangkaso) and "a very high fever," thus rushing him to the hospital around February 5, 2023. The doctor's diagnosis, she said, wasn't COVID-19, but two other viral infections: rhinovirus and parainfluenza.
She looked after her son in the hospital, and on their third day, she happily reported that the three-year-old was "much better" and could be discharged the following day.
At the same time, Saab lamented having to leave her other son at home, and Pancho had "started showing signs of congestion." That's why she kept "accidentally crying" during their video calls. She also screenrecorded one of their calls "where he gets reminded of Mama’s love."
Saab's prayers for Pancho's getting spared from sickness apparently worked because her next post showed the boy enjoying the cake he got that day for his fifth birthday.
Saab's similar prayers for Vito worked as well as they soon got home, where she continued to administer medicines for her little patient. One of those was administered using a nebulizer. She's using the portable device she had since Vito's Kuya Pancho was still baby.
Saab couldn't help commending Vito for being "so good at taking his meds and nebulizing." She then shared these tips:
1. Introduce the new thing, or medical device, and liken it to something he’s familiar with.
For instance, you can call the medicine you're introducing to your child as "Paracetamol syrup in a syringe." Then tell you child, “This is going to help you feel better and you put it in your mouth like a lollipop!”
2. Make your child hold the medical device and ask them to “guide the doctor” where their ear or heart is.
This trick is helpful when your child has to be checked up in the hospital using the in-ear thermometer, otoscope, or stethoscope.
3. Make your child watch a video of what’s going to happen in a checkup or procedure.
Saab said this trick helped in inserting an intravenous line (IV) into Vito in the hospital. She explained, "We made him watch a video on Youtube of what’s going to happen, we didn’t even tell him not to be scared.
"We said it’s like when Spiderman gets his web in his wrists and it will be a little ouchy for a bit but Mommy and Papa are here and he can be like Spiderman for a few days! He was amazing and just singing The Beatles songs as they inserted the IV."
4. Explain why you’re doing something to your child.
Saab suggested saying something like, "This will help open up the lungs," as you point to your child's chest and continue explaining, "and make it easier for you to breathe!”
5. Give the medical device a nickname.
This way, Saab pointed out, your child will feel it’s a friend, not an enemy. Examples: Grape for the allergy meds; Strawberry for the antibiotics; and Neb for the nebulizer. Yes, Vito talked to Neb like his pal.
Read here for more tips on how to make your toddler take meds without force.
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