Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Waiting for the Doctor

We took Braden to the doctor Monday. The place more closely resembled a circus or maybe even a family reunion for all the mountain dwellers in the county. After an hour and a half with all the sick hillbillies we had to reschedule for Tuesday and leave.

Tuesday was more of the same. The parking lot was full. There was standing room only in the waiting room. There is nothing quite like standing and waiting. There have been a large number of documented cases of H1N1 in our town so clearly every kid with a runny nose was in the doctor's office. There is notching like spending an hour with every diseased kid in a 30 mile radius.

Braden finally got in to see the doctor. It turns out he has allergies. I don't know how that feels because I don't have problems with ragweed and other airborne allergens. Arica does, and it looks like she passed it on to Braden. The telltale sign according to our pediatrician is the "allergic black eye." I love that term and have used it repeatedly. It's not every day that I get to learn a new term, much less a medical term that sounds like pure silliness. That was a good find.

The good news is Braden has no fever. He has no pig virus. He is disease free. The bad news is that every year for the rest of his life he will have allergy problems. Right now Arica spends plenty of time with the nose plunger sucking snot from the far reaches of his brain.

I guess the even further reaching good news is that one day he will learn to blow his own nose.

6 comments:

Rob said...

Well that sucks that Brandon has allergies but at least no flu. Every single person in my house has been sick or is sick. Shaun and Sabreena are the only ones that aren't sick right now. Being sick SUCKS.

Manic Mommy said...

H1N1 just hit our preschool. We got the letter home and none of our pediatricians has the vaccine yet. So we all just sit and wait. And wash our hands repeatedly.

Allergies suck but the good news is that they're treatable and out-growable.

Anonymous said...

That does sound like a silly medical term? I would have asked if they hurt themselves coming up with that one.

We had our little man's 18month visit Monday and the place was like a MASH unit. Pretty scary.

SurprisedMom said...

What is it about pediatricians' offices and waiting for days to get in to see one? I still have nightmares!

I'm so glad Braden doesn't have the flu that includes the pig, but sorry that he's suffering from allergies. My oldest one does, too, and it can be miserable. Hopefully allergy season is short this year. I also hope Braden outgrows his allergies. He must hate that nose plunger. I'm sure Arica is not fond of it either.

And, here's to the day Braden learns to blow his own nose . . . and not on his sleeve!

WeaselMomma said...

Good thing Braden isn't sick, but after 2 days of hanging out in the germ incubator of a waiting room, he may be soon.

Jill said...

I'm glad he doesn't have H1N1. It has flown through our school dist like crazy. We got the flu with the high fever, coughing, runny nose, etc. But it wasn't H1N1.

Allergies are no fun. Much luck. At least you know now. I hope he doesn't have asthma with it too.