"Two long days left."

Tuesday, July 21, 1992

     Today felt about a week long. We didn't really have any trouble, it just took a long time. We got there in plenty of time, even found a handicap space to park in. The appt. was at 10:00. We checked in at 9:36 (had to wait in line). It was over an hour before they called us back. We saw a female first who said she was a sr. med student. She asked lots of questions. It wasn't too long before the dr. came in—Dr. Timberlake. He was very nice—so nice I think he might be civilian. It's hard to tell when they're wearing dr. clothes. He checked her out and had us go "around the corner" for X-rays. We had to wait 30–40 min. for that. I'm glad I took some pnut butter triscuits & applesauce for Ez. to eat. She'd had some juice & teddy grahams before we saw the dr. Gayle went down to McDonald's to get Ez. some milk & us some sodas. I gave her money for them. Ez. didn't drink much milk or eat but one or two crackers, but she ate all her applesauce.

     She did good getting her X-rays done. I had to wear a lead apron. The girl did have to help me hold her legs still some of the time while a guy ran the machine. They took pictures of her pelvis and her legs & several of her feet, from different angles. She started getting fussy on the last one cause she had to lay on her side. They all came out ok so we didn't have to redo any. It didn't take too long to get them back.

     Dr. T. told us to come back down the hall and not stop in the waiting room so he'd see us. It was a couple of minutes before we saw him come out of a room and he saw us. He went to look at her X-rays & came back with the student to see us. He showed us the X-rays of her pelvis and said there was this one bone that had a higher curve on one side than the other but Gayle or I couldn't tell what he was talking about. He said it was nothing to worry about. He asked if they'd left her diaper on when they did the X-ray & I said yes & he seemed displeased. I don't know if that would cause what he was talking about.

     About her feet, he said not to worry about that yet either. He said she would probably start to walk soon and to get her some high-top shoes with soft sides to hold her ankles up. He wants to see her again in 3 months to see if they're better or worse by then. If they're worse she might have to wear braces.

     When I put her down on the floor to stand up, she surprised me by trying to walk over to Gayle. Not the left-foot step like she usually does, but real putting one foot in front of the other walking! She did it at home tonight too. Must be something about dr. visits that makes her want to try something new. 

     Anyway, by the time we finished there it was after 1:00. I have to call a month ahead to get an appt. (Oh, Ez. fell asleep on Gayle's shoulder while Dr. T. was talking at the end) Gayle said she'd just go to the ped. with us cause by the time we got home & changed the car seat over & everything we might be late. I thanked her profusely & apologized for taking up her whole day & missing lunch. Ez. slept til Gayle got her out of the car at the dr's. office.

     I had to fill out a new info sheet cause they got a new computer system & wanted to update everything. When we saw Dr. Karp she seemed like she was in a rush more than usual. Ez. did ok—at least she didn't have to clean out her ears. She looked at Dr. T's report & the X-rays (I was surprised he gave those to me) I asked if what he said made sense to her & she said yes but didn't elaborate. She took my notebook & started going over my questions while I was getting Ez. dressed so I couldn't make my own notes. When I got home & looked at it she'd skipped some stuff too. I guess I was just too tired to think by then.

     Gayle said she'd hold Ez. while she got her shots. She got them in the arm this time and hardly cried at all. I was shocked. She got measles, mumps & rubella in one arm and meningitis in the other. The dr. & nurse said she might develop a red, bumpy rash in five days & a fever and it would last 5 days. The nurse said to call if she did.

     It was around 3:00 when we got home. I thanked Gayle again. Before we left the ped. I asked if I could treat her to lunch & she said no. When she was leaving here I asked if I could give her some gas money & she said no, that just saying thank you was enough. So I said it again & gave her a hug. I told her I don't know what I'd have done without her. She said she was glad to help.

     Ez. went to sleep at about 3:30. I gave her some Tylenol first (& at bedtime too). Her weight was 23 lbs 9 oz & height 32". So the dosage goes up for Tylenol & other stuff now. I slept for about an hour. She was still asleep at 5:30 & I decided to wake her up. It wasn't easy. Her hair was all sweaty. I think I need to change the angle of the fan during the day but I always forget to do it before putting her down.

     We went & got the mail then ate supper. She got grumpy while I was doing dishes & I later discovered it was a poopy diaper. Oh yeah, she woke up at 6:06 this morning with a poopy diaper. That's 3 days in a row for the diapers—a whole week + 1 day for getting up early. Dr. Karp said to keep her up later. I said that doesn't make a difference. She said she probably doesn't need more than 8 hrs sleep. I didn't want to hear that. She said if she wakes up grumpy & stays grumpy she didn't get enough rest. It just didn't seem like she was much help this time.

     I'm so tired but Ez. will probably wake up as soon as I go to sleep. She did last night but I think her legs were chilly. I'd put her in her night shirt so I went ahead & put some pj bottoms on her when she woke up (& at bedtime tonight too.) Maybe today wore her out enough that she'll sleep late in the morning. I sure hope so.

     Two long days left.

July 1992