AuburnChick's Adventures

This seemed like such a longggggg week!

Rooster got sick on Monday, throwing up on his carpet despite the bathroom being less than ten feet from his room (he did clean it up, by the way).  He stayed home from school on Tuesday and missed that day’s FCAT testing (state exams).

He was feeling a little better on Wednesday, so he went back to school and took the second day’s exams.  He also attended school on Thursday, but by that afternoon, he was feeling sick again.

No throw up this time, thank goodness, but he had a fever and a sore throat.

I dosed him up with Extra Strength Excedrin, which does wonders for sore throats, but two hours later, his fever had actually risen a bit.

This morning, Rooster was dragging.  Still, he got dressed and went to school.  Today was makeup day for students who had missed the FCAT.  Since he had missed the first day, he had to report to the media center by 7:30.

The poor thing was in no shape to sit in an examination room for three hours.  After discussing it with the testing coordinator and a guidance counselor, we decided to send him home to rest.  There is one more day of makeups next week.

Meanwhile, since I had a class to sub for, the Mr. pulled parent duty, dragging himself out of bed to pick up the boy.

I called the doctor’s office and got him an appointment for 11:00.  My classes would be finished by 10:30, so the timing could not have been more perfect.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I LOVE my pediatrician.  He is a gentle, kind man who’s diagnoses are always right on the money.

Before we entered the examination room, I suggested that Rooster get on the scale.  I was curious about how much he weighed.

119lbs.

He’s skinny.

Then, I asked the nurse to check his height…again, out of curiosity.

5’10”!!

WOW!  The boy has grown!

He and I talked about the last time he’d been measured.  We argued in a friendly way, with me faintly remembering that he was 5’5″ the last time.

The nurse played referee by checking his file.

When last measured, Rooster was, in fact, 5’5″…way back in September 2008!

Oh my.

It had been that long since he had been in for a well check-up.

I felt horrible.

I am the anal mom who takes her children in for well checkups every single year without missing a beat.  They’ve always gotten their shots on schedule, and illnesses get checked promptly.
He’s a second child, though.  You know how it goes…second children get the shaft.
Anyhoo…

We went into the room and waited for the doctor.

He came in and listened to Rooster’s symptoms:  sore throat, headache, fever, throwing up, and stomach ache.

Diagnosis:  Strep Throat.

Oh

My

Goodness.

Rooster had been suffering from Strep all week.

And did I even think to take him in?

Noooooooo.

Why?

Because I had a mommy brain fart.

Ugh.

I wanted to crawl into a hole.

You see, I know the symptoms of strep.  In fact, every time my children complain of a sore throat, I always ask if their stomachs hurt and check for fever.  I also ask about rashes (which Rooster didn’t have this time).  I usually make a doctor appointment just to make sure that all is well in Throat Land.

Not this time.

I have no idea why.

Perhaps the fact that Rooster called me while I was grocery shopping to tell me I needed to clean up his puke had some impact.  I thought he had a stomach bug and totally overlooked his sore throat issue.  I figured it was due to nighttime drainage and allergies.

AuburnChick slaps her forehead.

Now, I can hear you saying, “AuburnChick, you’re a good mom.  Don’t beat yourself up.”

But see, I have always tried to be a good mom…better than my mom.

My mom routinely forgot about my sister and me.  When it was time to pick us up from school, she wasn’t there.  She was either working in the yard or laying out in the sun.  We once had to wait a couple of hours to get picked up.

If we were sick, we sucked it up and got over it.  There was never a, “Let’s run to the doctor and have him swab your throat.”  Nope.  Vicks and Comtrex fixed everything back then.

The only time I remember going to the doctor was when I had ringworm.  I got a topical cream for that.

So you see why I’m giving myself a hard time?

Rooster has been a trouper.  He put a funny spin on it when he said, “Mama, the one time you don’t take me to the doctor, I actually have something!”

LOL.  Cute kid. I think I’ll keep him.

So, I think that this year’s Best Mom Award will probably go to someone else.  Someone who’s at the ready with the thermometer and has the doctor’s business and cell phone numbers memorized and plugged into her iPhone.  There must be an app for scheduling an appointment.

Filed under: children | Tagged: childrearing, parenting |