Hot stuff
Friday, September 25th, 2009Though it’s the most rewarding job in the world, sometimes it’s hard being a parent. I worry about everything and then I worry that I’m worrying too much. This is particularly true when it comes to my son’s health. He has a cough – do I call the doctor? His appetite is off – there must be something wrong – not that he’s just being a picky eater like his dad. He ate a penny – do we rush him to the emergency room?
I’m probably not alone in my fears, real and imaginary, over my child’s well-being. And I’m really not just some nervous mom who freaks out over everything relating to her child. Last year, Andrew spiked a high fever that wouldn’t go away.
I brought him to daycare one morning and he was a happy kid, eager to spend the day playing with his friends. Half way through the day, my cell phone rang. Caller ID told me it was daycare’s inside number – the one only used when they call to say there’s something wrong with your child.
I raced across town to find him curled up in a ball in the front office, whimpering and burning up. The thought of seeing him like that still breaks my heart.
The weeks that followed were full of trips to the pediatrician and every emergency room in the county. No one could explain to us why nothing would bring down his fever, which had crept up to 105 one very scary night that again landed us in the ER. Still unable to tell us what was wrong with Andrew, his doctors finally admitted him to the hospital. For six very long days we were cooped up in the hospital with the doctors running all kinds of tests and all kinds of tubes hooked up to my baby. They called in oncologists, radiologists, infectious disease specialists, urologists, nephrologists…we had a team of 9 doctors coordinating Andrew’s care.
Andrew’s case was apparently unusual, with none of his symptoms adding up to one clear diagnosis. We were at a teaching hospital, and they were all meeting daily to bat around his case, trying to figure out what was wrong. At one point someone tried to tell me this was a cool thing – they were discussing my son in a round table like they do on those medical shows on TV. It definitely wasn’t as cool to me as it was to them.
The good news in all of this is that we were released from the hospital and, other than the minor coughs and colds, Andrew’s been completely healthy. He also started walking the day we were released and has happily been cruising around on his own ever since.
So do I freak out a little bit every time my son runs a fever now? You bet I do.
But I also learned to trust my instincts. If something seems off, it probably is. And it’s okay to call the pediatrician a couple times to reassure yourself. That’s what they get paid for.