Another day of doctors.

A had another doctor's appointment this week. This one was a little more intense, however. If you remember, this was our February vacation. It was really a "sickation". And the week that Andrew had his most severe seizure.

A few months later we were finally able to get in with a wonderful pediatric neurologist that suggested an MRI. So off we went to Dartmouth for said MRI...

Living here in the boonies, we have gotten use to traveling for anything. This includes doctors (especially specialists). Dartmouth is over 100 miles away or 2.5 hours...

I have also learned that any appointment that has to do with anesthesia should not be done in our local hospital. Since an MRI requires you to be still for 45 minutes to an hour, anesthesia was a necessity for A. Dartmouth has a CHaD Pain Free Clinic with a team of anesthesiologist that specialize in children.

Dartmouth was the place to go. Period.

And besides all that, I get to drive by my very favorite rest area :)

This morning I dropped Z at his rec program for a day of "jello wrestling"....and off A and I went to Dartmouth (remember how last week I wrote about how I will NEVER again take two kids to a doctor's appointment together).

Not ONCE did he scream or kick or cry. Not until we were actually less than 5 minutes from the hospital did he start with the "are we there yets". It was AMAZING!

Kirby did not come with us so I did get a taste of single motherhood, however. We got there a little early and I had to fill out some paperwork. They made us wait in a hall and told A he could climb on the bear statue if he wanted. That lasted all of 2 seconds. Then he was off and running...looking for the playroom...running in and out of offices...ugh!

When they finally got us in he was able to play in a small room with a bunch of toys. He was in heaven. They had a garbage truck and a fire truck and a play mat with a road on it. This was A's territory! He loved it!

When it was time for him to go in they allowed me to be with him when they put him out. He was allowed to choose which "flavor" mask he wanted. Unfortunately he wasn't all that fond of the cherry he chose and he was ESPECIALLY not fond of having it over his face. Soon enough, though, the gas kicked in, he went limp, I kissed him goodbye and off he went.

They gave me a pager, told me that they would page when he got back and sent me on my way. I was told to expect everything to take about an hour so I set the alarm on my phone for 45 minutes. I wanted to be right there when he got out. I didn't want to have to run from the other side of the hospital to get there - or get lost while I was trying to get there.

Less than 20 minutes later the pager went off. I threw the food I had just bought into my bag and ran back to the ward. It ended up just being a dead battery...so I walked back down to the cafe and ate my lunch.

Within 45 minutes I was back on that ward waiting in the hallway - a bit impatiently. I watched them wheel him past me from the MRI room...he was still sleeping (although the nurse was talking with him - so sweet). 15 minutes later nothing - no page - but I couldn't hear him crying so I knew he must still be sleeping.

30 minutes later I finally got paged and the nurse informed me he was still sleeping and I could wander a bit more if I wanted. I informed her that I had been waiting in the hallway the whole time and there was no way I was going anywhere (this is not A's first time experiencing anesthesia - he has had 4 surgeries - but I am not the kind of mom that leaves her kid while they are in the hospital - asleep or not).

An hour after the page I was wishing I had gone for a walk. He was still sleeping...the nurses were getting frustrated because he was their last patient of the day and they couldn't leave until he did. And they kept trying to make small talk and kept asking why I didn't just call my "husband" rather than text him (I didn't feel like explaining to them that Kirby and I are barely on speaking terms and that texting was the only way I could "speak" to him without the voice of the devil coming out of me).


He was so stinking pitiful...you should have seen the drool!

90 minutes after the page we forcefully woke A. Sat him up, shook him a bit, gave him his new toy (an Oscar the Grouch puppet I got in the gift shop), took out his IV (that they put in AFTER he is asleep so he never gets stuck with a needle) and "sobered" him up a bit. 10 minutes later we were on our way (after I figured out how to get him and all his stuff down to the car by myself...he couldn't walk, I couldn't carry him and all the stuff and the nurses weren't much help).

He was a bit groggy on the way home and didn't really say much (although he was awake the whole time). Again, no screaming or yelling (from him OR me). He started to get antsy about 20 minutes from the house but other than that it was a PERFECT 2.5 hours.

A day this perfect has solidified my decision. No more than one kid at the doctor's office at a time.

I have also been convinced that mommies can handle ANYTHING! This was not an easy day. Honestly, it would have been so nice to have someone else there to help me keep him occupied, someone to hold my hand while I was waiting, someone to cry to when I got nervous...but I did it by myself.

I didn't get lost, I found my way to more than one place to pee on the way to and from the hospital. I found Dunkin's in towns that I had never been to. I made my way through an enormous hospital without getting too lost. And I didn't kill the car.

I also was able to drive down I89 at 70+ mph, while wiping A's dirty hands in the backseat and not miss a beat! Mommies can multitask single or not.