Visit to the Pediatrician

The secret to getting a pediatrician in an office where you want, when you are new to town, is to sign up with the general/family practice office first. Do the first appointment, then when you call to reschedule, you ask to be seen in pediatrics.

Of course, we didn't have this problem prior to coming to this new town. In Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, children get to see pediatricians immediately. They are fit into the schedule when there is an urgent visit, or they are scheduled when it's not urgent.

But here...not so easy! Last fall, I had to call almost a dozen doctor's offices, all of them part of a larger network, before I could find an office that would fit our son in. Jeez! The doctor he saw was "okay", meaning she wasn't outright stupid, her studies of the American culture here must not be complete for her mannerisms were not necessarily matched up with family medicine or pediatrics. For example, when I told her that Chris had had a low-grade fever, she said, "how do you know". "Well, I checked him." "What was the temperature?" "I don't know, it was a low-grade temperature." "Then, how do you know it was a fever, how did you check?" "I did the 'kiss test'." You know, where you kiss the forehead with your lips, as the lips are so sensitive, they can tell you immediately if your child has a fever! Well, her response was, "What is a kiss test? So, you didn't use a thermometer?!", at which time she raised her eyebrows and bugged her eyes out and continued with her abrasive mannerisms. Hmmmm....not such a good match with mom's like me! But, then again, she was not a pediatrician, she was a general practice doctor, apparently lacking in the area of being sensitive to children and their mannerisms and needs, or in what parents need when taking care of their children. Putting a parent on the hot seat for no good reason is a very confrontational move on her part, whether she intended on this outcome or not. It did not help that I had to repeat myself for everything I tried to explain to her, and not once, but at least two more times for Everything!

So, yesterday, here we go again! Seriously dreading a re-encounter with this woman, I took a chance and called the pediatrics department to see if they could schedule our son in, and transfer his files from family practice to pediatrics. Bingo! And we were scheduled for a few hours later!

Move ahead to the 12:50 PM appt.

Symptoms: experiencing residuals of a cold, with raspy and heavy coughing in the mornings, but now coupled with repeat occurances of hives each day this week. Unknown source for the hives, but causing a discomfort for the little guy, and making him scratch all over. Have checked home environment for any changes that may have triggered this outbreak, made a few changes, but alas, still have hives. Next step: check with allergist to see what we need to avoid with him. No sense in making him suffer through adolescence and into adult life with something we could address now.

At 5 and a half, he's over 4' tall now, and 57 lbs, and lean as can be (at least he didn't inherit our "fatness"! ha ha!)! We suspect he will make it to 6' tall before long!

First thing he asked the nurse: "Do I need to get a shot today?"
We hadn't planned on any shots, so we both told him, probably not.

They made him get down to his underclothes and put on a paper gown. His first paper gown! He tried it out...didn't like it and took it off after a short time. Then the resident doctor came in and checked him out. At one point, she used the term "butt", which is a trigger word for Chris. Given his repetitive nature, he can say almost anything he wants, but he's not allowed to keep repeating things over and over. "Butt" was one of his words he liked repeating, so now we encourage him to use other words, and for this one, it's "bottom". Well, he also likes to play with words, so he picks up new ones all the time. When this doctor told him something about sitting on his butt, he replied back immediately with, "Awwwww! You Said Butt! A Better word to use would be 'gluteus maximus'!" Wish I had a picture of her expression, because even I didn't expect him to say that, I was prepared for "bottom" and am used to his set of rules he carries with him everywhere. She told him that he must be a smart fellow to use words like that, and he said, "Well, my Papa is smart, he told me." She laughed, and I could tell that, even besides his curly hair that everyone loves so much, she took a genuine liking to him. He also knows that the bottom has three parts, gluteus minimus and gluteus medium, because he plays with Mike and he like to sing the song on the kids' channel, "Everybody has a Butt!" but he changes the words out. At this point, I was almost expecting him to come out with my all-time favorite word: onomatopoeia (a word that imitates the sound(s) it is describing, such as "buzz" or "bang"). We did purposely teach him this one, and I was happy when he learned to say it on his own after awhile, and even happier that he knows what it means. Next: how to spell it! O-no-MA-to-POE-I-A, break it up and it's easier that way!

Later, when the primary doctor came in with the resident, they were asking questions of this new patient of theirs, and the words "excema" and "asthma" came up. Excema being dry skin, asthma being what we all know. Dry skin causing itching, so recommended initial treatment is more lotion on a daily basis, too young to diagnose as asthma. Little ears were all over this! "Excema! Asthma! They sound the same! Are they the same?" "Why? What is excema and asthma?" So the doctor did a quick explanation and showed him pictures.

Then, next the question, "Am I going to get a shot?" At this point, we had discussed the flu shot for him, which he hadn't gotten yet this season. So, we said, just a little one, you won't hardly feel it. Wrong answer! Then came the LOUD crying. Inconsolable! When the nurse came in, we quickly realized she and I couldn't do it alone. In comes another nurse. Still no good. First nurse takes Chris in her lap, wraps her legs around his legs, holds his arms in a lock hold while I help hold his hands and arm. Then goes the shot, which was over quickly, but not before the curdling screams in all of our ears, at close range! One thing for sure: his lungs are healthy!

I tell him when it's over, that we can go get a reward for his bravery, and does he want an ice cream. Of course! But he asks me if it's an award, because you get tropies when you win things. I tell him yes, an award for you being so strong. "But, I cried and screamed because it hurt." So, I told him it was a Major Award! I know, we watched too many re-runs of A Christmas Story this year, but it slipped out. He enjoyed his ice cream, I enjoyed the little joke, and we went back home after dropping of his Rx.

Later, when Mike returned home, first thing he told him was about getting his shot, crying and screaming about it, getting "an award!" for being so brave. Then, he told him, "Well, we talked about excema and asthma at the doctor's office today." Now, that was about 6 hours earlier when we left the office, and we didn't discuss it again after that. Just goes to show, the little guys have Great memories and pickup the darndest things!

Which makes me all the more determined to be extra patient at other times when I think something should be easy for him to grasp and he just can't or won't focus. We can see that he gets it, especially when he is interested or wants something.

One of the secret keys to raising a kid is to find interesting ways to help them learn the important stuff. Some of the techniques we learned as children come back in full force when we are in these situations, but I have found that they are not always the most effective. Sometimes, quite the opposite, and thus forcing me out of my own rules and expectations box, to try other things.

And so, today was a good day, got some answers, hope for future answers, and some unexpected entertainment mixed in. Oh, and a flu shot that was overdue. Best of all, we got moved to a pediatrician, even if it was a round-about way of doing it. (As I shake my head...)