Memory for Today - An Hour Late and A Hundred "Hi Mom"'s and A Protector

Sam has been struggling with his asthma this year again. He has been on steroids 4 times since August. His maintenance medication, which he takes two times a day by nebulizer is just not working this year. He has had a constant cough this fall and winter and a runny nose. I called to set up an appointment with his pulmonologist and we got a March 17th appointment. The lady who made the appointment recommended I call the nurse directly to see if we could get in sooner. I left a message with the nurse and that evening I got the shock of my life. Our doctor actually called my house. Now it is a funny situation because Sam's regular pediatrician and his pulmonologist are both Dr. Wooten. They are husband and wife. It can get funny trying to explain that to people. He called the house from his home because I could hear his wife and baby playing in the background. Miracle of miracles he was able to see us today. I was so glad. Sam started coughing yesterday and had a horrible night so I was glad we were being seen. Sometimes it is hard to describe to doctors what your child is doing but this time they were able to hear it firsthand. We got to UNC for our 3:15 appointment and I was expecting to wait a while because he had added us in at the end of the day. We waited an hour before being seen but it was worth it. The doctor mentioned some things that I had never thought of before. He mentioned that it could be a reflux problem which is not a surprise because that runs in my family. He also talked about the trachea problem that Nathan has. He also mentioned just treating him like he has a dust mite allergy like Alex. Allergy tests are not very reliable until a child is around 4 or 5. He added some reflux medication and a nasal steroid to his medicine regimen to see if we can get the kids to stop coughing. He also is on a three week course of antibiotic because of a sinus infection. Poor kid. If this medicine does not work they might have to do more tests to determine if there is any inflammation in the trachea like Nathan has. It was a long appointment and Sam was so funny. He was crawling around on the floor and just making us all laugh. He kept hiding under my chair and then poking his head out and saying "Hi Mom." He did this over and over again. It was kind of comical talking to the doctor and having to say "Hi Sam" over and over again. He was so cute though as he had the biggest smile on his face. Even though it was a doctor's appointment he enjoyed the one on one time with mommy. Sometimes when you have a large family it is hard to spend that individual time with each one. I take it where and when I can get it. Like after the doctor's appointment I met Carl at the pharmacy. I intended on going by myself as I do not get much of that. I was already in the store when Carl called me. He said he was sended William in to be "my protector." He said he was not comfortable with me going alone. How could I resist the plea of a 10 year old boy who wants to be a young man. He kept me company as I waited for the prescription to be filled. We had a good time. It felt nice to be cherished by my fellas.