Princess Pleasant and King Crab

Bonding with our family Pediatrician has been a slow process. Lucky for us, yesterday provided me with another opportunity to do just that.

I'm a fan of the facility's two waiting room layout. To the left, you enter the waiting room for sick patients and to the right is the room reserved for the kids waiting for a well child check-up. I can't tell you how tempted I am to head through the right door regardless of my childrens health status; especially when you find yourself following an extremely sick boy into the waiting room; who is carrying a large metal bowl and dish towel from home to help contain the puke that must be imminent. Leading your children to the corner opposite of him, you have to resist the urge to pour hand sanitizer into their young mouths because they are now sharing the same air space of Captain Up-chuck (bless his poor heart). Certainly you're doing your kids a disservice by exposing them to the ailments of others in the surest possible place for germs.

The idea of taking Eliza to the doctor's office was one I debated. She wasn't fevered, her energy level was up and her mood was animated. However, the cough she'd developed was proving to be a cause for concern. The night previous, she had no reprieve. From my bedroom I listened to her struggle. As Andrew and I lay there in the dark, I'd count between each cycle... hoping to make it pass a minute before she coughed again. And then, I'd hear it; a cough coming from Henry's room. My conflicted heart soared that it wasn't Eliza; while at that same moment a pang of concern was shot to the portion of my heart reserved for Henry.
I thought that in the morning her coughing would settle, but to our joint dismay it didn't abate. She was all for the idea of laying down for a nap, but her attempt proved futile. I went ahead and made the appointment. Henry wasn't 100%, but his cough wasn't as prominent. I wasn't expecting a breathing treatment, steroid shot (wasn't croup related) or a prescription to be written - that's just not his style - but I needed to know if my kid's were well enough for me to host preschool at my house this week. I say kid(s) because when I woke up Henry from his nap, he was fevered... what the... so I asked if they could squeeze him in as well. That didn't really fly with the receptionist, but they made it happen anyway.

Eliza loves conversing with adults and Nurse Kathy proves to be a favorite. It was difficult to answer the questions the nurse had for me because Eliza was there to:

• answer each of them,
  
• interrupt with the news of her recently acquired Tinkerbell tooth paste,
  
• show her the new boots she inherited from a cousin, etc.
• etc.
• etc.
  

"Excuse me... EXCUSE ME!" She interrupted. "Um, Doctor? I have a doctor's kit from Christmas."

"You do? That's great.""Yes. I have an otoscope, a shot, a bandaid..." Finally, when we have no choice but to ignore her, she bursts into song. She's fully cooperative for the exam as it is another opportunity to receive attention. Her bravery was truly admirable until it came time to swab her throat. Thinking the test was a waste of our energy in restraining her fully active and revolting limbs, I did my best to keep her contained while spluttering out my apologies.

It wasn't entirely Eliza's fault, after all, she witnessed Henry endure the same test only a moment before and he was nothing short of pissed off. But then, something totally awesome happened. Nurse Kathy brought them both a Popsicle following the strep test. That won them (and me) over immediately.

Henry, oh Henry! He shrinks into me the moment we enter the office. He knows that what goes on in there is nothing short of terrible (see here). Again, my kids have it SO SO SO easy in comparison to children with serious medical conditions - I totally understand that. I'm simply outlining the difference in their demeanor. In fact, Dr. Martial Arts/Pediatrician/Lawyer made an astute observation during Eliza's exam.

"This one" referring to Eliza "is always pleasant; whenever she is here. Why is that?" Before I could answer he shrugs his shoulder to acknowledge Henry and adds,

"I mean, as opposed to King Crab over there." Seriously? Is he calling my son crabby? When I catch the expression of silent loathing on Henry's face as stares directly back at the doctor, I laugh and decide this his assessment was fair.
And then, Nurse Kathy reappears to shock us both with the news that Henry and Eliza have strep throat. I HAD NO IDEA. There were no throat complaints... Eliza wasn't fevered... I don't know anyone who has had it, etc. The cough that we were there for apparently is unrelated. Still, I'm glad I made the appointment and insisted that Henry be checked. Having them both on antibiotic has given me peace of mind.
So, here we are, stuck at our fully sanitized and clean home, (I go hog wild when my kids are sick) blogging in an unfortunate amount of detail about our most recent trip to the doctor's office. It was either this or expounding on the most recent episode of the Bachelor (o.m.gosh - so glad that Michelle and Elizabeth are out of there).

Here's to a healthy week, wherever it is you find yourself, dear friend.