The Doctor and Josie, take 4

Not sure where to start...J went in on Sunday March 29th (2 weeks ago) for pink eye. Don't ask me how no one else in the family or visiting g'parents came down with it. Wednesday, April 1, she had a raging ear infection. Since she's allergic to penicillian, she's been taking omnicef for her anit-biotic needs (ear-infection).



Last Wednesday, the 8th, J had her 2 year well visit. She received the Hep A and Hep B vaccinations. I should keep better track of all this, but we basically get whatever it is they tell us to give them (not sure what I'll do about some of the newer, more optional ones down the road).

Ear infection looked better and in all, a clean bill of health and middle of the road in stats (50th percentile range across the board). She's got a 19 1/3 head circumfrence; weighs 26.7 pounds and is 34 inches long. Doctor was impressed with her abilities (knowing her colors in Spanish and English), consistently saying 2 and even some 3 word phrases. There is a little checklist the parent fills out and I checked that we could do everything it listed. Sometimes I think it's a routine for him--act impressed, so the parents will be impressed, but then on earlier visits when she wasn't talking much, he was pretty mellow, low-key.

We seem to have to wait a long time to see this doctor and it really gets me bent out of shape. After waiting an hour for Ed's apt. last month, we actually left when we were told it would be at least another 30 minutes before we'd been seen. I understand doctors are in a pickle at the moment and all that, and I like that they spend time with me when I need it, but if you are going to keep me waiting 1.5 hours, don't ask me to arrive before my stated apointment time. Or better yet, call me/email/text or something to tell me to arrive a little later. My hairdresser and dentist seem to have that down, now I'd like my pediatrician to be on that page. They are opening a 3rd office so we're going to use the opportunity to switch to a different provider in the same practice.

Fast forward to this weekend. A couple posts ago I mentioned the welts. By Sunday morning some of the bruises had morphed into giant purple/blue bruises. She had them on her feet, the backs of her legs, around her diaper area, and a couple other places. Meanwhile, the welts kept coming and we kept giving her benadryl. This morning when I called in, they said to bring her in, which brings me to the 4th apointment. We were there for TWO hours today. Actually happy it was a late afternoon apointment because other than getting hungry, it didn't completely hose the day.

The nurse practionier used some complicated term to describe the viral reaction some kids get, but said she'd never seen them bruise. Meanwhile her ear looked like it was becoming infected and her throat meant Josie would be getting a strep culture (turned out negative). So we had to wait for a consult with a doctor, which never came because the nurse finally cornered a doctor who said bruises were a natural progression for the welts. She NP also thought it was an allergic reaction to the omnicef. That knocks out another family of drugs she can take. I think I need to get her a medic alert bracelet if this keeps up.

Genetically Josie is getting to be more and more like her Aunt in terms of drug allergies and such. Will have to phone for a consult. We'll round out the week with a follow up to check on the hives and bruising and check the ear to see how the infection is doing (they don't want to give her any meds until the welts go away--which at 3-4 days, should be tomorrow night).

And then next week, it's take 2 of Eddie's 4 year apointment...