The Doctor's Appointment

I was just emailing my sister J about my horrific trip to the Dr's office with Ballerina and thought I really should write this in my blog. You see I have had many horrible trips to the Dr's office with my kids and this ranks up there with the best of them. Most of the time I came home feeling completely worn out and almost in tears myself.

Ballerina has had a horrible cold since last Wednesday. She started with a croup cough and the next day she had a runny nose and a more gargly cough. She had a coming and going fever. I almost decided to take her to the Dr. on Friday but I decided that since she was still energetic and happy as long as she had tylenol in her then we didn't need to go. Her boogers went from clear to dark green back to clear which I saw as a good sign. She hasn't slept good at night because she kept trying to suck her thumb, then she couldn't breath, then she would cough. Also, for a couple days she would point in her mouth and tell me it hurt which I assumed was a sore throat. One day I got her to open real wide and looked in and it looked the normal color of red so I was pretty sure she was okay other than being miserable.

My regular doctor didn't have any appointments open today so I had to see the on call Dr. I knew that wouldn't be good because my kids recognize and love our regular Dr. So we went. Ballerina was a monkey while we were in the waiting area picking up every possible germ available in that room. Em was surprisingly pleasant even though she started a fever yesterday. DH thought I should have made an appointment for both but I decided I would just deal with the more sick one first. I had given both the girls tylenol early in the morning which should have worn off about the time we got there, around lunch time. But neither one of them had a temp at the Dr's office. That always happens. Kids miraculously recover just by going to the Dr's office. So I thought maybe Emily was cured and I didn't even have to pay the co-pay. No deal as soon as we got back home she started getting warm again and she told me she needed more medicine.

Ok so we get in the exam room and the nurse asks me what we are there for? Even though I explained it twice on the phone I have to explain it again. Then after 15 minutes of waiting for the Dr. he comes in and asks me what we are there for? Aaaaaaah! That is the part I hate about the Dr. Next time I see my regular Dr. I am going to ask him why they do that. He checked Ballerina's ears, nose, throat, and lungs. She did not like it but tolerated it for the most part. He says nothing and starts to pullout his RX notepad. I asked him what thought. He said she looks like she pretty plugged up on one side of her nose. DUH! I asked him if he was sure she had an infection because I was pretty sure he was writing a RX for antibiotics. I don't usually question the Dr. but this time I felt like I needed to. I told him that she gets a runny nose a lot. Seems like once a month, at least, more than my other kids. So he said she is old enough to be treated for allergies and that allergies can cause a low grade fever. I had told him that her fevers had never gotten more than 100 degrees F.

He left to look for a book that told him the proper dosages for a child her age. When he left he left the door open. This really bothered Ballerina she kept mentioning the door was open and I kept telling her it was okay the doctor was coming right back. A nurse peaked in and asked if the doctor had seen us, I think she was curious why the door was open and why my child was getting upset over it. She came back with some stickers for the girls. Ballerina wouldn't take hers at first so I said I would keep them. So she screamed that she wanted them back. I gave them to her and she threw them on the floor. I gave them to Em then she really wanted them, that was kind of my plan. But then she threw them on the floor again. So I kept them this time.

By the time the Dr. got back she was crying and mad. He tried to hand the RX to her to make friends, she kicked it out of his hand. He seemed slightly uncomfortable. So while she squirmed and cried in my arms he tried to explain to me the series of drugs I should try and that I should get the antibiotics by Thursday if she doesn't get better.

I had to put her down to put my coat on and gather up our things. She threw herself on the floor again. "That is a very dirty floor, please get up!" I said for the fourth or fifth time. It only worked the first time. This time she seemed to think she needed to mop the floor with her body. I picked her up but only got out of the room and into the hall before she wiggled out my arms again. All the nurses are watching me deal with my screaming child. I told her she could stay here or come home with me. She started to come then threw herself on the floor again. I told her I would count to three then I was going to come get her. That got us as far as the waiting area. I had to leave a message at the front desk about something else so while I was doing that she hung on my leg and howled and screamed. Everyone wanted to know what was wrong with her. I calmly explained she is sick and is very angry about it. I think they were wondering what was wrong with me and why I wasn't more affected by the noise and drama.

As we were leaving she wanted to stop and play in the kids area. I did not want to because all she needed was more germs and it was close to nap time. Without a doubt she definately needed a nap. So I grabbed her and she started spitting all her drool at me and blowing snot. We were finally getting out the front doors when the ear exploding screaming started. So I rushed Emily along so we could get to the van as soon as possible. The security guard patrolling the parking lot asked me if she was being kidnapped. I quickly explained she is very sick and very angry. Because it really did look like I might be kidnapping her. He took my word for it and laughed. We got to the van and I had to peel her off of me so I could get the keys because she was trying to attack me.

Em was climbing in th bushes which were full of litter. "Gross!" Em quickly climbed in the van. I had to hold Ballerina down firmly because she was stiffening her body straight as board so I couldn't buckle her in. Luckily this time it didn't take long. I tried to give her her favorite blanket which she threw on the floor. So I got in and Em reminded me that I hadn't buckled her in. We finally got on our way and first she was crying because she wanted her blanket. I told her she threw it on the floor so she couldn't have it unless she stopped screaming. She screamed some more. Then she started crying that she did not want to go to the store because earlier I had told her we had to go to the store to get the medicine. She usually likes going to the grocery store so I thought that might distract her thoughts and cheer her up. So I told her that we were going home. Because there was no way I was taking her anywhere but home, I kept this tidbit to myself. After a minute she started screaming that she didn't want to go home and the closer we got to home and she recognized our neighborhood she got more angry.

We were finally home and I pulled her out and carried her into the house, kicking and screaming. I set her down on the floor. She threw a fit next to the door for about ten minutes. She did eventually calm down and I wiped her nose and face and took her for her nap. A big smile on her face as I layed her in bed.

Usually these precious trips to the doctor's office leave me frazzled, angry, and in tears. Usually I find some way to blame the whole thing on my DH. Or on myself that I can't handle my own children or one bad day. Maybe this one wasn't so bad because I only had one unhappy child. I have some good stories from Dr's visits past. I don't know why but this time was different and I found the whole thing kind of amusing, Ballerina's fits, everyone's looks, it just didn't bother me. It's either because I am a really insensitive mother or I've dealt with worse.

Anyone who has more than one child knows this story isn't unusual at all but rather expected. I couldn't really get too mad at Ballerina because she is the one who has been sick for a week and has had very little sleep. Over all it made me grateful that I haven't had to go to the Dr.'s office for a long time. Several years ago in February alone I made 6 trips the Dr. for sick kids. $90 in co-pays. Since then my regular Dr. always says, "You never come to see me anymore." I laugh even though I don't find that amusing.

I think both the girls need their immunization shots updated so soon I will return and pay the Dr. and Nurse to inflict pain on my healthy children.