Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Quality Time at the Doctor

Reagan has had hives for two weeks. At first we thought it was the detergent which led to a massive rewash of about 20 loads of laundry. Because everyone loves to do laundry just for the heck of it. Then we thought it might be dietary and we switched around foods. But she kept getting new breakouts, so yesterday I called the doctor to bring Reagan in.

Yesterday, I ended up with a 2:45 appointment and Bill is out of town this week. Unfortunately, the girls' school is 30 minutes in one direction and the doctor is 30 minutes in another. So getting Reagan to a 2:45 appointment meant me walking out the door at 1:30 in the middle of an incredibly busy day. I picked up Reagan and off we go.

When we got to the doctor, the receptionist mentioned something about "hopefully the backlog is clearing up a little now." I didn't think much of it and sat down. If you haven't picked up on Reagan's personality by now, while I may sit down, Reagan doesn't. Reagan doesn't stop moving. Period. Her mind and body are constantly in motion. So within 10 minutes she had already gone through all the children's books twice and was on to perusing cars in the latest Car and Driver magazine (Oh, by the way Daddy, your daughter seems to be particularly fond of a little yellow Ferrari number. I think you're going to need a second job.).

Exasperated of reading material and no one else in the sick kid area to talk to, she targeted the receptionist next. Is it my fault they have chairs under the window? She climbed onto the chairs and knocked on the widow. The unsuspecting receptionist smiled and opened the window (lucky for Reagan she was on the sick side and got the nice one and not the cranky lady on the well side). Here's the conversation:
Reagan: Hey! Why do you have a giraffe right there?
Receptionist: It's just for decoration.
Reagan: Oh. Hey! What's that right there? (she points to the sign-in chart)
Receptionist: That's the sign-in chart. See, that's your name right there "Reagan..."
Reagan: That's my name right there? Reagan? What's that? (she looks on to something else)
This continues for five more minutes until the receptionist politely shuts the window indicating that the conversation is over. That's ok with Reagan because by then she had found a box of tissues and needed to blow her nose. 500 times. With a different tissue each time.

I'm doing everything I can to keep Reagan from ripping wallpaper off the walls. I'm singing with her, we dance in circles until I'm dizzy, we count in Spanish and English, say our ABCs, act out animal sounds and actions, but she eventually grows bored of me. She does well for the first hour in the waiting room. By 1.5 hours she starts saying, "I want to go home. Let's go mommy. Let's get out of here." To keep her eye on the prize and to keep her from a tantrum I tell her, "We can't go. The doctor needs to look at your rash and see if she can make you feel better. Once we let the doctor look at you we'll go get some ice cream, ok?" I get a resounding, "OK" to that one and we are good for another bit.

Finally we get called back. They say Reagan's name and as the lady is holding the door open to the waiting room with the chart Reagan walks right up to her and says, "I want some ice cream. Where's my ice cream?" The lady looks at her strange and takes her back. The nurse comes in and Reagan says, "Do you have ice cream for me?" I'm beginning to regret the ice cream thing. Focused like a laser beam, this kid is. Another 20 minutes in the room and we finally see the doctor:
Reagan: Do you have ice cream? I want some ice cream.
Doctor:No, I don't have any ice cream. But I'll give you a sucker when we are done.
Reagan: Ok, and then I can have some ice cream.
Doctor: Um, show me this rash of yours.
Reagan lifts up her shirt
Doctor: My that is quite a rash. I'm going to give your mommy this medicine. Will you take it every night like a good girl?
Reagan: No.
At least my kid is honest and self aware.

So 2.5 hours later, the diagnosis is hives. Duh! Take Zyrtec once a day and if she still has new hives in two more weeks they'll do allergy testing.

The upside, I had a great afternoon with Reagan. It is so easy to get frustrated with her when she wines or cries and becomes so demanding. I needed an afternoon like this to remind me of the other sweeter, fun side of Reagan. It was nice to have an afternoon where I had absolutely nothing for distractions such as the computer or tv. It was just Reagan and me and we had a great time.

And yes, she finally got her ice cream. Are you kidding? You think she let me forget that?

20 comments:

Michelle said...

Ohhh I just love those active little girls. I have to say that you handled the doctor's office admirably! I love how she caught onto the ice cream part but didn't REALLY get what you meant by it. Sounds familiar, really.

Joanna said...

Actually, for those of us that read your blog, you don't describe Reagan very much at all. I've been forced to make some guesses about her, but this post really brought her personality to light.

I so wish I had a child like Reagan locally. It would just explode Michael's world. Wait. Maybe that wouldn't be so good for me. That focus can be brutal.

Anonymous said...

Oh yikes! I hope she's feeling better soon. My youngest is exactly like her. He wakes up running and goes to bed doing the same. It's exhausting!

Mrs4444 said...

She sounds like a real character; I'd love to meet her :) (but not in a stalker kind of way, haha)

Mountain Mom said...

Reagan sounds like a real little character. So funny! I hope you can figure out the rash business. That bugs the crap out of me when Tyler gets a random rash and I don't know what caused it. A frequent occurence at Casa Altitude.

Anonymous said...

funny girl, i miss her! post more pictures!
2.5 hours at the doctors office is unacceptable...this coming from someone who works at a doctors office! i hope you complained. if i treated my patients like that, i wouldn't have any!!

Lynda said...

Hope you let us know if the Zyrtec works. I am thinking he didn't tell you WHY she got hives?

Jen said...

I am with you. It sucks to wait but sometimes its nice to spend quailty time with just on kid.

Karen said...

Michael is constantly on the move too and it exhausts me sometimes. They do get quite focused, don't they?

Janet said...

Wow, thats a long time to wait for a dr's appt. I'm glad y'all survived and had a good day together. And yay for ice cream!

Mama Mia said...

Reagan sounds like B...NEVER sitting! NEVER!

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

So, what caused the hives? Is the Zyrtec working?

We had a sick visit recently - and we got to the office about 15 minutes before our appointment - and were actually out the door and done BEFORE our appointed time. First and last time that'll happen.

mommyto3kiddos said...

OMG...2.5 hours at the doctor's office! I would have been irrate and let my 2yr old do whatever he wanted after about the first 30 minutes of waiting. I hope the hives go away and it's nothing too major. She sounds hilarious...actually kind of makes me think ADHD. My oldest DS has it and he was like that when he was little. :) They are so much fun!

-Bridget said...

Michelle- Thanks, about how I handled things. Yes, she heard ice cream and nothing else apparently.

Joanna- You are right. I describe Reagan much. It's been deliberate. But I'm going to change that. You are going to so wish you didn't mention that, lol. And I think Michael and Reagan would be great friends if we lived near each other.

Sandi- I'm glad to know I'm not alone!

Mrs4444-She really is quite the character

Mountain Mom-I hope we figure it out too, so far no luck and it's driving me insane!

glassbeadfairy-Reagan asks where her Megan is! I'll post more pictures soon! You know me. I did have a word or two to say about the wait.

lynda- So far no luck on the Zyrtec. Today the hives look worse. No guess whatsoever as to what may be causing them. She said a vast majority of all hive breakout causes are never known. She suspects it may be viral and mentioned she saw two other kids in the past week with the same thing.

jen- It really, really sucks to wait. But it really was a blessing to have that quality time.

karen- yes, VERY focused. like a LASER BEAM!

janet- way too long to wait. and yay for ice cream! (should i admit the ice cream was because i was having a craving for it to begin with and it was an excuse for me to get some? maybe not, forget I said that part)

mama mia- b and reagan should have a last man standing contest

kat- no luck on the zyrtec and no clue on the hives. they are getting worse again. you make me jealous with your drs appt story.

mommyto3kiddos-adhd is exactly what i am afraid of. ugh.

Anonymous said...

Reagan sounds so much like Zoey!! That's too funny. I feel for you. I really do. And you have Bailey, so it's only going to get worse before it gets better! The next few years are just going to be a blast huh?!

Beth said...

What a great attitude to have about a situation that could have left you completely stressed and uptight. Kudos to you! The last time we had a long wait at the doctor was for an appointment for Seth, and I had both boys with me. So I was having to entertain William the whole time. I finally busted out the playdough for him to play with as we waited in the examining room, and apparently, he dropped a lot on the floor. The nurse stepped right on it and got blue playdough in the tiny grooves of her sneakers! I normally would have felt really bad, but that's what they get for making us wait so long. It was either playdough or the ear-examining instrument! LOL.

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Julie said...

Reagan sounds so much like Lana--never stops moving: brain and body always in action. I cannot tell you how many times she says, "mommy, let's get outta here" I think you handled it all so well--2.5h is beyond ridiculous. I have spent many moments in public dancing in circles with her, singing and otherwise trying to engage Lana in conversation in situations where waiting is inevitable. I hope her rash gets better. Rashes are SO hard to figure out--ugh!

Jill said...

Oh I so have that child... the very busy one ... the one who asks a zillion questions ... and who has more energy than you know what to do with!

And ice cream? We can bribe them to do anything for ice cream.

Hives are the worst - good luck with your meds!

Anonymous said...

My name is Susan Ward and i would like to show you my personal experience with Zyrtec.

I am 30 years old. Have been on Zyrtec for 3 months now. I thought I was dying! It must be cancer or some disease. I felt that bad. I exercise 6 days a week and I know my body very well. I new something wasn't right but never thought it would be an allergy pill to blame. Within three months these symptoms hit hard. I tracked it back to the day I started taking this medication. The side effects didn't hit me right away. I was just happy to be able to breathe. So I'm assuming the clinical trials for this drug were not long enough to witness these types of side effects. I'd rather deal with the allergies than these side effects. Glad to know others feel the same. I'm not just going crazy.

I have experienced some of these side effects -
Major fatigue, gained 13 lbs in 3 month period very unusaul for me). wild mood swings, major depression, loss of short term memory. Stop taking the pill and fill almost back to normal.

I hope this information will be useful to others,
Susan Ward