So our Ped was booked today, it's that time of year. Everyone and I mean everyone is cramming into doctors offices. I don't know why the fall gets so much hype, spring is way worse as far as illness. I despise going to the doctor for any reason in March and April. Last March Alorah was on oxygen at home for 5 days because they did not have room for her at the hospital. I knew taking Vance and Alorah to Urgent Care was going to be a long, exhausting event...and it was. We got there at 11:45 and we didn't leave until almost 3pm. I should have gotten there at 11:15, they open at noon and the line was 20 deep when we got there. The kids were really good for 99% of it. They played their DS(i)'s and watched tv and found a dead fish in the tank. Around 1pm Alorah started to meltdown, she was pissed off and over it. I heard about it. Over and over and over. Vance was actually really good about everything. We finally get in a room around 1:30pm (by the way Vance weighed 50.2 pounds! I am guessing a good 2 pounds of that was clothes and shoes but he's finally gaining weight!!!!). We got Outer Space, which was cool because we'd never been in that room and I am sick to death of Asia. The kids play I-Spy, that's the great thing about school agers, they can make a game out of ANYthing!!! It's so cool. Their creativity astounds me. The doc comes in and I try not to audibly grumble. The one doc at this clinic I cannot stand is the one we get 8/10 of the time. This doc is condescending and talks at you instead of to you. The exact opposite of their Ped. This doc infuriates me. The doc decides to test Alorah and not Vance because she has enough symptoms to warrant a test (sore throat, vomiting, no signs of allergies/cold, and her throat looks awful), the nurse makes her gag and I'm glad we got an aggressive one. The nurses that blindly stick the swab in and move it without making them gag concern me...for many reasons. This one gets a great gag out of Alorah and she takes it in stride. 10 minutes later doc and nurse come back to tell me Alorah is positive and that they would check Vance. Doc gives some half-assed talk about carriers vs kids that are sick and blah blah blah blah, I blocked it out. The mere voice of this doc irritates me. Another 10 minutes, Vance's rapid is negative. Cool. Now do we do an injection or oral antibiotics? Alorah is awesome with shots. She giggles with flu shots. MMR is the only one to ever rattle her and let's face it, that baby burns. I ask her and she agrees to go with the shot. Awesome, she's had it before so she knows what she is agreeing to. The nurse comes in with the shot and tells her to get on her tummy. All hell breaks loose. Last time they did the shot, at this very same clinic, they gave it in her leg. Getting it in her booty was NOT what she had in mind. She starts to freak out and I have to make a choice-force it or give in and go with oral. She is on so many daily meds, her immune system has taken a hit with every round of steroids (4 rounds in 4 months), I am worried if we even missed one dose the strep wouldn't go away and she has been sick SO much this year. One shot and we can have peace of mind. I decide to force it. I know my child, I know she will be fine, and I know that I am doing this because I honestly think it is best for her.
I let them call in another nurse to help hold her down. She screams bloody murder. It's over very quickly. She is pissed. I betrayed her and she is so angry with me she can barely look at me. This isn't my normal parenting style and I felt awful because I honestly think she felt like I broke her trust. My job is to keep her safe. We have had strep outbreaks over and over and over in this house before, it was AWFUL. I do not want her stomach wrecked from another daily med for 10 days. If she flares she would be on 9 meds every day, that is just TOO much. I made the choice I honestly feel was best for her because of her current health. (by the way she gets a book she desperately wants and bubblegum ice cream tomorrow-I am NOT above bribery). I gave her Motrin when we got home. About an hour ago she told me her bum doesn't hurt anymore and it really wasn't that bad, it was worth it.
I'm glad that I took her, the vomit was a huge tip-off that it might actually be strep. That and her throat DID look awful. I don't regret having her do the shot. I am pretty sure she knows and trusts that I don't make choices like that lightly and that I would never let anyone give her a shot if I didn't think it was best. For about 30 minutes she hated me, she was seething mad, but at the end of the day we both know that I love her more than life itself and I just want her safe and healthy.
I am SO glad we skipped Sofia's baptism and Rhiannon's 3rd birthday party yesterday. I was very much on the fence about it being a virus or strep, I am just glad we didn't share!
(I still felt about <> big though).
This Mommy stuff is not for the faint of heart!
4 comments:
I'm sorry you feel so bad and that she was so upset. I HATE sick kids! Seriously the worst.
On a different note, we are very different parents. If my kid freaked out like that after agreeing to a shot, I would be a BEAST to him/her and wouldn't feel bad for a minute. A shot's a shot, no matter where you get it (unless it's in your head or your stomach, that's a different story). I hope she gets better really really soon, poor thing.
To be fair this shot is very painful. It is quite large and it hurts a LOT going in. She has been through so much and I try as much as I can to let her have a say in her healthcare, she was expecting an experience like the one she had had before, having it be in a very sensitive area and thrown at her I can understand her reaction. She really is not the kind of kid to try to manipulate a situation, her bum is going to be quite sore for a couple of days. She is sick every day, her asthma is part of her life every single day. She never gets a break, she never ever fights a treatment, she never whines about having to do a peak flow. She is one tough cookie, but this shot awful. It is given intramuscularly, it is thick and white, the gauge of the needle is quite large, and it HURTS. That said she took it in the leg without a tear shed, the nurse was shocked. She had one experience and that is what she agreed to, having to switch gears that fast when she felt like crap to begin with was a lot to ask of any kid.
No, I get it, I was just saying you're a much better parent, much more patient. I would have just been mad that my kid agreed and then freaked, but you feel bad and get her something afterwards. You're a lot more patient than I.
After Zoe was born I had 3 really bad UTI's right in a row, so bad they were giving me flu symptoms. The second time they gave me two antibiotic shots in the bum and I was shocked at how bad it hurt.
ohhhh, trust me I am far from the perfect parent. There are days I fall apart on the kitchen floor from the stress and anxiety. Alorah is my most compliant child, so helpful, kind, she takes all her medical stuff in stride so it is really easy to have patience with her. She so rarely gives me a hard time. She is the first to jump in and hug me or help me with laundry. (She was a really difficult toddler so I truly appreciate how sweet she has turned out to be!) I read a lot of books about gentle discipline. I am, by nature, very patient.
Mycoplasma can cause UTI's, if you ever have that happen again you may want to get tested for it. That was one of the problems I had from mycoplasma. Yuck. I'm sorry you had to have the shots :( they are awful!
Post a Comment