The Meaning of Family

Recovery

(Y'all i literally forgot i had this saved🤦🏼‍♀️ surprise, here's a chapter! I'm working on the next one.)
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When Jay got back to the hospital, April helped get Ava changed into her pajamas and talked them through how to do her breathing treatments since they needed to know that anyway. Ava was extremely lethargic and clingy. She just wanted someone to hold her and make it all better.

Hailey and Jay alternated who was in bed with Ava, holding her while she slept off and on. While she was asleep, they would try to sleep themselves or they would talk about random things, like their plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Or what to get Ava for Christmas or how she may react to the whole idea of Santa and whether or not they should acknowledge that part of the holidays or not. They ultimately decided to wait until closer to December to make a decision about those discussions because they didn't want to spoil anything for Ava, although Hailey said there was a small chance her mom had done Santa for Ava because she'd tried to do it for them as kids, but it also seemed that her father's abuse had become worse earlier with Ava so it could go either way.

Before they could talk about anything else, Ava woke up crying and coughing. "Mamaaaa," she whined between coughs and Hailey came over and lifted her off the bed and swayed with her while she rubbed her back as the little girl coughed.

"Breathe, baby. Mama's got you. Focus on breathing," Hailey repeated over and over again until Ava's coughing died down and the toddler relaxed against her.

"Here's your water, kiddo," Jay passed Ava's water bottle to Hailey and the little blonde happily drank some of the water before wiggling in her mama's arms.

"Potty," she huffed, not wanting to use the potty but not wanting to be a baby either.

"Hang on," Jay called for a nurse and a pediatric nurse named Emmy came in and helped them unhook Ava from the monitors and she and Hailey helped Ava use the bathroom before Hailey got her into a fresh pull up, just to be safe.

"Thank you," Ava said sleepily after she was hooked back up to the monitors and in bed with Jay.

"Of course, sweet girl!" Emmy smiled at Ava. "Let me know if y'all need anything else."

Hailey and Jay thanked her and she left them alone. Ava requested a book to be read, so Hailey sat and read to her until she fell back asleep. Once she settled, thumb in her mouth and oxygen going into her nose for extra support while she sucked her thumb, Hailey went outside to take a break. She felt immensely guilty for what was going on even though she knew logically, without Ava telling them she didn't feel good, they couldn't have known how bad it was. Not really.

Jay noticed it was taking Hailey a while to come back but didn't want to leave Ava in case she woke up and got scared, so he waited for his wife as he asked Will to go outside and check on her if he had a chance. Fortunately, Hailey came back soon after and sat with Jay and simply rested against him. They were both worried and feeling guilty.

Eventually, Jay spoke. "She never said she felt bad."

"I know. I just feel like we should have seen it coming. She's our kid," Hailey huffed, playing with the end of Jay's sleeve.

"She is our kid, but she's clearly learned to hide not feeling well, and she may not have really felt bad till after she got to school. I definitely think we'll have to talk to Ava about telling us when she doesn't feel good once she's better, and as we get to know her better, we'll learn her signs of sickness," Jay wasn't sure who he was trying to comfort more, himself or Hailey, but it was working. They both continued to talk it out and felt lighter after their conversation.

Ava woke up an hour later, coughing and just not content. She hated being in the hospital, she just wanted to go home. As soon as she stopped coughing, she started asking to leave and cried when Hailey and Jay explained they had to stay for a few days to make sure she was okay. Jay lifted her off the bed, mindful of what she was hooked up to, and held her and swayed as he rubbed her back.

"Home!" Ava wailed as she broke into another coughing fit, bringing up mucus and phlegm as she coughed, which Hailey cought with tissues and called for a nurse.

Ava was against Jay, still crying, when Emmy came in and checked her lungs and reassured them that the toddler, although super sick, was okay, and coughing up the stuff from her lungs was going to be good in the long run. Ava whined when she heard this because she did not enjoy it. Then she was told she had to eat, which brought on more tears. She was NOT hungry.

It took a lot of coaxing, but Jay managed to get her to eat some applesauce and a popsicle before she fell asleep again. He could tell her fever was starting to go down, which was a relief, but she still felt terrible and her breathing wasn't the best still. Ava had to do another breathing treatment before she went to bed, sleeping on Hailey, under her weighted swan.
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Ava spent three days on the hospital before she was finally able to go home. When they got home, Jay started sanitizing their personal belongings, and Hailey got Ava in the shower with her to clean the hospital off them and then settled on the couch with her while Jay showered. It was early evening, and Trudy brought them dinner so they wouldn't have to worry about it. Ava still had a small fever and a bad cough, but her antibiotics were helping and she was doing breathing treatments a couple times a day, and had an inhaler for the next few weeks.

It was definitely a scary ordeal for the family, Ava's first sickness landing her in the hospital, but they got through it, and over the next week of Hailey and Jay trading who stayed home with Ava, the toddler recovered and was back to her happy, active self, although her cough lingered for a while, which they were reassured would go away over time.