KIDS UPDATE

Yesterday both kids had appointments at Children’s Hospital. The first appointment was ENT. Everything went well until her doctor tried to pull out the tube that was not in place anymore. The doctor attempted to go in with a pair of medical tweezers but she was not successful in pulling the tube out. It was very uncomfortable and scary. Chloe freaked out and started crying. The ENT specialists stopped right away and decided to email her GI doctor to see if they can arrange a date so she could both procedure together (taking the ear tubes out and GI test to measure the acid in her stomach).

Brady was next. He did very well up until the moment she looked in his ears. Like any three old would, he refused to have her looking in his ears. The doctor called in an assistant to help hold his head. She finally got to peak in his ears and everything was good. The tubes were in place and working.

The Childrens next ENT visit will be in 6 months. Both kids will have their hearing checked at that time.

Right after the ENT visit, Chloe went to have blood work done. I should have prepared Chloe for it but I did not. Chloe’s last experience with needles did not go very well. As soon as she realized where we were going, she started to cry hysterically. My husband and I did our best to comfort and try to calm her down and we promised to buy her anything she wanted but nothing worked. Chloe had a melt down. She curled up in the corner of the lab room. Chloe was in tears and screaming that she was not letting them take her blood. My heart was breaking and I wanted to cry along with her. Older children were coming up to Chloe showing her where they drew blood and telling Chloe it didn’t hurt but Chloe knew better. Chloe has gone through this numerous of times and has not reacted like this in a very long time. However, the memory was still fresh from two weeks ago where the young RN nurse dug into her arm to place IV because she was dehydrated. I felt as if parents were looking at me and thinking that I was a terrible mother; as if I was not doing enough to console my daughter. But what do you say to child that has had enough? I empathized with what Chloe was feeling. Yes, I understood why she had her melt down. I think that Chloe needed to let it all out. Life is unfair at times especially for kid like Chloe. It was unfair because Chloe wanted the medicated cream so it would numb the site where they would draw the blood. However, the medicated cream needs prior authorization from the doctor ordering the lab work. I did try calling the office but her immunologist had the day off and I had forgotten the doctor mentioned it me on the phone when we had discuss the blood work. It was also unfair because why should she have to go through this ordeal again. In reality, it needs to be done to keep her healthy; to ensure that nothing is wrong with her. However, to a six-year-old little girl whose been poked at throughout the years, it did not make sense. They called Chloe’s name; she stood up tall and stopped crying. She asked that her daddy come with her and she proceeded to the room. I was hurt that she wanted daddy instead of me. I had tears streaming down my cheeks. I did not want anyone to see me cry so I took Brady and myself to the girl’s bathroom to compose myself. I also did not want Chloe to see me crying, I had to be strong. When she came out, she was angry with me. She expressed to me how much she hated me and said it was my fault. I told her that I was sorry and said it was okay to be mad with me but that I loved her. I gave her some time to collect herself. As we were walking away from Childrens Hospital , I told Chloe that I was hurt of the words she used. That hate is a strong word. I told her that it is okay to be mad that life is unfair but sometimes we had to do things we do not like. I asked her what I could do to make it up. Chloe responded I would like a nail polish toy set that I saw at TJ Maxx and I would like to go out to eat. I said yes without hesitation.

In-between doctor’s visits, we took a walk to Fenway Park and went out to eat. It was nice and the weather held up. I love the moments in life where I just spend it with the kids and my husband. For me, the golden moment that day was when my kids were smiling and laughing because they were content. You know, it was a happy moment that made the bad stuff just disappears. Those blissful moments are the moments that I hope my children will reflect on later on in their adult life.

As we walked back to our last appointment at Children’s, Chloe wanted us to reassure her that she was done for the day. I said yes and it was Brady doctor’s visit. She sighed with relief and said GOOD. Brady’s Genetics appointment went well. The appointment took about 2 hours and the doctor took a detailed family history. It looks as if both sides of the family MAY have a genetic component. My side of the family has children with learning disabilities, speech delays, ADHD and Atypical Autism and on my husband’s side; it is ADHD and speech delays. Diniz and I both have our blood work on archive from last year when Chloe’s genetics doctor ordered it so Brady’s doctor would be able to compare it to his micro duplication. They will also be comparing my nephews DNA to Brady’s. Tyler has recently been diagnosed with PDD NOS (Atypical Autism). It will be interesting to see what the outcome will be.

We ended with a trip to TJ Maxx where I bought Chloe her nail polish toy set. Chloe thanked me for buying it for her. I told her there is no need to thank daddy and mommy. You were a brave little girl and this is the least that we could do. I told her that she could go ahead and pick another toy out. Chloe said no that she did not need anything else and could not wait to go home and paint her nails.