A Week of Doctor Visits

Yesterday Zachary and I headed down to Denver for his monthly infusion of experimental medication. We dropped Josh (who was feeling dizzy) off at school and hit the highway. It was one of those days I dreaded at the infusion center. They were short nurses and we had to wait an hour before someone came to the clinic to give Zach his physical before the infusion could be started. Each visit has its own special protocol and yesterday, Zachary not only required a physical, but a pre and post blood test. To make everything a little more frustrating, there were not enough rooms available so we were in a room with three other women receiving infusions for various medical conditions. While Nikki, the nurse in charge of Zach's case, was trying to explain the next requirements for the study, the women (understandably) were chatting, making it difficult to concentrate on what Nikki was saying. By the time Zach had his second blood test and we left, we were both emotionally exhausted.

When I returned home I was really looking forward to just laying on the couch and taking a rest, but that was not to be. When I picked Joshua up from school, he was frustrated and frantic about a literacy project he was working on. I decided to call the teacher to find out what he was suppose to do for the project and when each section was due. As I talked to her, I found out that for the past week, all of Joshua's teachers have been concerned about his general confusion in their classrooms and although he was turning in homework, it was often the wrong assignment. I put on my to-do list, call the neurologist.

Giving up all hope of getting any rest, I went and worked out at the gym while waiting to pick up David from track practice, and then rushed home to go to the Columbine Concert that the TVHS band was performing that evening. It was an absolutely awesome concert and definitely the highlight of my week. However, before even going to the concert, I had to get Jeff out the door to the airport as he is spending the week working at Lawrence Livermore National Labs in Livermore, CA.

After falling in bed after all the kids were settled for the night, I was awakened every couple of hours by Rascal, our Black Lab. She has an ear infection and was in a lot of pain. Finally I remembered that I had some left over Remidryl (doggy ibuprofen)gave it to her, and was able to sleep from 2:30 AM until 6:00 AM. I woke Joshua and David up at 6:00 to get them out of the house at 7:00, but Joshua had trouble waking. When he did finally get up, I had to help him down the stairs because he felt so dizzy. By 8:00 AM I had called the vet, Josh's pediatrician and the neurologist. Rascal has a vet visit tomorrow at 9:00, Joshua has a neurological work-up at 4:20 tomorrow as well and Zachary has to go back to Denver on Thursday for a three-day blood test for the study.

This week is why it has been and will be difficult to ever have a career while my children are still young. There are stretches of weeks where everything goes smoothly and then these situations inevitably happen. What I find interesting is how quickly I usually forget weeks like this and then ask myself "why can't I ever get anything done?"

As my mother-in-law always reminds me, "this too will pass." So, I will turn to my favorite Bible verse to lift me up, James 1:2-4 and listen to one of my favorite songs "You Never Let Go" By Matt Redmond and go on, hopefully with a good attitude.

James 1:2-4:" Consider it all joy, my bretheren when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."