Just in Case

I didn't have anything special on the agenda for today, but I certainly didn't expect our day to go the way it did. Grace's random cough/chest congestion became a little more regular yesterday, and even though she's not acting like she's feeling sick, I decided to take her in to see the doctor anyway. Just in case.

I spent half an hour waiting on the phone with the lady who schedules appointments, only to have her tell me that there are no more pediatric appointments for the day. Seriously?!? I ask her to please check the family practice clinic because I'd really like to get my daughter seen, thank you very much. (I'm definitely grateful for military medical benefits, but sometimes it can be a bit frustrating.) I finally snag an early afternoon appointment for Grace. It's right in the middle of her usual nap time, but beggars can't be choosers at this point.

After lunch, I could tell Grace was getting sleepy, but we had no choice but to head out to her appointment. We got to the base gate and instead of being waved on through after showing my ID, I get stopped. Apparently, my base decal had expired. Last month. I had no clue since I've been coming on base all month and no one seemed to notice my expired decal until today. I begged the guard to please let me get on base without going to the pass office right now because my daughter is sick and we are going to be late for her hard-to-get doctor's appointment. I promised I would take care of it as soon as possible. I also mentioned that my husband, who normally takes care of these things, is deployed, and we're new to the area. I guess he was sympathetic to my sob story because he let me through.

During the appointment, the doctor agreed that she had some chest congestion, but instead of reassuring me that it was all fine and there was nothing to worry about, she ordered a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia! What?!? Talk about a nervous mama. I brought her in as a 'just in case' and for some peace of mind and now we're talking pneumonia? Thankfully, that wasn't the case, and Grace was just prescribed an antibiotic to help clear the chest congestion.

The poor people over at x-ray though- Grace screamed the entire time and it's a wonder they were able to take a picture at all with her trying to climb off the table. I was nearly in tears because I could tell she was terrified- she was half naked on a cold table with this weird machinery all around her. And it broke my heart that I couldn't go get her and comfort her no matter how hard she screamed for me. Thank goodness it only lasted a minute because that's about as long as I could hold myself together. If it took any longer than that, those x-ray people would've had two crybabies to deal with.

After the hospital drama, our day went pretty smoothly. She took a nap when we got home, after which we headed to the store for a humidifier and some Vicks Rub, and then dinner, bath, and bedtime as usual. She is still just as active as ever. I mean, look at that picture- does that look like a face that's not feeling well?

Even though Grace seems to be feeling fine, please keep us in your prayers that the medicine will do it's trick and clear up her chest congestion. All mamas know it's the worst feeling in the world to know your baby isn't 100% completely well.