Surprises

It never cease to amaze me that no matter how long has it been since I've become a mother I will never be exempt by sudden shenanigans courtesy of my son. Today after picking him up from school, Nathan complained about itches all over his body. At first I thought he was acting up to avoid homework. It wasn't until I saw bumps all over his face and the rest of his body that I took notice. Of course children doesn't show any kind of illness unless its too late to schedule an office visit to their pediatrician. I had no choice but to take him nearest emergency room. I hate taking that route because the wait is always long. Having a 5 year old coup up in place where everyone is sick and yucky isn't exactly my cup of tea. But off we went despite reservations.

To my surprise there weren't that many patients waiting, at least 2-3 people at the most. So I was hopeful that we will be able to leave before 7 pm. Bedtime is very crucial during school night. One minute too late can make bedtime feel like getting a rootcanal without anesthesia. Its that serious! Especially when I have a child whose routine is extremely restrictive that if you missed a beat the whole bed time routine is ruined. I think he has a light case of OCD! So we register and were called to the triage station to get assesed (i.e. weight, blood pressure, temperature). Then we were led to a room in the back where I guess the non-serious cases are placed. But of course being a mother you always think that whatever you're child is having is much more serious than that guy who just had a heart attack. Okay so I'm a little narrow minded but I like my child's health to be taken as seriously as I do. It might be a little overbearing, so what! After 15 minutes of wait a very nice lady came and check on Nathan. And being that he wasn't that serious we were seen by a PA (physician assistant). As much as I hate being seen by a PA but these days ER are so swamped and doctors are overwhelmed they need someone to take off a little bit of the workload. PA's still consult doctors and they get the final say. But I guess there is that assurance you feel when its actually a doctor thats checking your child. Anyway, there wasn't really anything they could do for Nathan except give him Benadryl and steriod shots. They can't even find out what he was allergic to because that could be a myriad of tests and testing all the food in the world would be close to impossible. They suggested to keep a food diary and when it happens again we can look back at his history and determine if there is a pattern.

We went home that night unprepared for what is going to come. I lost sleep and feel like a walking zombie. I feel so drawn out that I might as well hurl in a corner and just be. Let the dishes pile, let the laundry walk to the washer (right!!), and let the food just magically cook on its own. I suppose I should be grateful because its not something terminal...God forbid! Then I would probably loose my mind.