When he was about 5 months old we began patch therapy where we would put a patch over his good eye which theoretically would force his wandering eye to strengthen and hopefully correct itself. This worked well and Max rocked the eye patch like a tiny pirate until... sissy started pulling it off. Obviously, patching was no longer going to work for us, so our doctor had us just start coming in every 6 months to monitor him until he was old enough to undergo surgery.
Seriously, I know. I have the cutest pirate kid of all time :)
Then we moved.
Recently it was time for Max's semi-annual check up and we made an appt. with a new (recommended) doctor. This new doctor apparently takes a more proactive approach than our former doctor and at our first appt recommended that Max get an MRI done of his brain... uh excuse me?! come again? (that's what she said) She went on to say that she wanted to rule out that Max's strabismus wasn't neurological. I spoke to a friend whose son had to do that same thing and she said it was nothing and not to worry. But you know what I did right?! Yup, I consulted the damn internet! The internet is a scary freakin place my friend. By the end of that day I was in tears imagining the worst and expecting to be told some horrible news about my baby's brain. Then I stepped away from the laptop, drank a glass of wine, prayed, took a deep breath and assured myself that Max was completely healthy, smart and happy and at the end of the day that was the ONLY thing that mattered and that it didn't matter what this MRI said or didn't say - it wasn't going to change a thing.
Oh if only it were that simple.
So... fast forward to yesterday morning... the big day. We woke up around 6:15am, got everything together, arranged to drop my daughter off at a day care for the day, and checked in to the radiology clinic at 8am (starbucks in hand). We were fully expecting this to go smoothly, but I assure you it was anything but. We go back to our little room, and they dress Max in his little hospital gown (the poor thing was so hungry, he kept saying "I want raisins, Mommy, PALEEEESE, please mommy please" - omg break my freakin heart!). They took his vitals and came back and said that since he had a runny nose (seasonal allergies) they were unable to do the kind of sedation they wanted to and were going to have to use something else... ok whatever, just get it done. Max HATES taking medicine, and the poor little man had 3 different syringes of meds forced down the hatch with mommy and daddy holding him down. These meds were supposed to get him drunk and fall asleep. Well, he def got loopy and drunk! We hung out and watched The Little Mermaid (the kid loves fish) and an hour or so later he still wasn't asleep, but he was asking for food and water REPEATEDLY! The nurse came in and decided to go ahead and insert his IV - oh joy. After blowing the vein in one arm she finally got it in on his other arm - once again mommy and daddy restraining him as he cried and screamed :( The nurse injected some other sleepy time potion into his IV to help him get to sleep so they could do the MRI. This other further pissed him off. It took a good little while and a lot of rocking and shushing and Bubble Guppies (I told you he loves fish) to finally get him to calm down again. Staring at the clock... it was 11:45 an none of us had eaten and were tired and emotionally drained at this point. We were sure the nurse was going to come back in and tell us to leave. Not 5 minutes later, Max fell asleep... FINALLY. We let him sleep for a few minutes to make sure that he would stay out and then called for the nurse. At this point, I thought that the meds they had given him would keep him out - like a night of heavy drinking out. Well, she told me that she was going to pick him up and move him into the MRI room and all we could do was say a prayer that he didn't wake up. Really? That's all you got?
So I said a prayer.
She picked him up, he woke up, I shushed him, he went to sleep, she put him down, he woke up, I shushed him, he went to sleep, and so went the dance until we all finally gave up and Max woke up screaming b/c a space age helmet was all around his head and he was restrained in a weird bed. So to recap, I had to wake my 2 1/2 year old up early, not give him anything to eat or drink, make him wear and backless thin hospital robe, no toys to play with, forced medicine down his thought by a stranger, poke needles in his arms, drug him up so he would go to sleep, and then when he finally goes to sleep, wake him up by putting him in a scary machine that makes loud noises, and then leave after 5 hours empty handed - all for nothing. I never knew that sitting around not really doing anything for 5 hours could be sooooo exhausting! I am so glad that kids are so resilient! Max was totally cool once he got in the car with his stickers and applesauce - seemingly unfazed by what had just transpired. I however was not - I was pissed. I am still pissed. We know have to reschedule the MRI to be done at the children's hospital which has a 2 month wait list. Which I wish is what was suggested from the get go - ugh so irritated! And I'm sure I will rehash it all again when we get the bill for yesterday in a couple weeks. Assholes.
We ate kinda crappy that night cause I didn't feel like cooking. I also didn't get a run or a workout in. So yeah, that was my Friday. I hope yours was better!
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