I'm glad I asked
I ran out of the butterfly gift decorations.
So I had to come up with something new that I could make quickly.
I like it.Highlights of our doctor visit:
- The nurse who checked Max's temperature was so tan I was mesmerized by her deep orange thick hue and couldn't stop staring. But not in a good way. Her teeth sure were white though.
- The new doctor (not our usual one) actually listened to our concerns.
- Because of our concerns the doctor ordered a blood test for Max. This involved a lab nurse pricking his finger and then milking it for blood for five excruciating minutes while Max made faces and squirmed. Time stood still. It was like watching an ant milk an aphid for it's minuscule drops of dew. Max told her he did not like what she did to him and that he was mad. Then for fifteen minutes he told us what he would do to her if she ever repeated that exercise. (She could have taken his blood with a needle and been done in five seconds.)
- Max's issues boil down to three separate ones: 1) he has strep 2) his lungs are full of phlegm because they are irritated by a wheeze which we didn't know existed 3) he's anemic (which a friend of ours asked about and I've been thinking about since she mentioned it-Sid, you were so on it!)
- Our total lack of surprise at the news that he's anemic (though it should be noted that it's mild). We've actually been surprised at how healthy he's been for the last few years living on crackers, ketchup toast, and apples. Not a lot of iron in there.
- Max playing breathing games into the nebulizer the doctor used to see if it would lessen the wheeze. He hummed into it, hyperventilated, took giant lung fulls, then held his breath. You just can't get a six year old to take medical equipment seriously.
- The realization that Max's real doctor sucks and we're going to try to switch his care into the hands of this more competent one.
You were right: trust your gut. And ask questions.
(I don't usually have to be reminded of these things because I tell it to other people all the time. Except when it comes to Max's health, I almost always trust my gut, and I never fear asking questions. I guess sometimes people need to tell you things you already know to reinforce the knowledge.)