"Mommy, my throat hurts!"
Shit. Please, God, NOT STREP! That's all I need is strep streaking it's ugly ass through my house...
"Oh no! My poor baby. I'll get you some cold water, stay here with daddy."
I fumbled down stairs to get cold water and Children's Motrin. Positive the overhead light would blind me at that hour, I pop open the microwave to let its light shine my way. I grab the water and Motrin, and of course, I can't find the first medicine spoon or syringe. I swear, I have 52 of the damn things but when I need one, NO WHERE TO BE FOUND!
I finally find a medicine spoon, fill it, and head back up stairs.
At this point, FTD has the bedside light on and a miserable boy tucked under his arm.
Dammit. It's strep. I just know it!
I coax him into taking his medicine and going back to sleep...
Unfortunately, I was wide awake. I looked at the clock; 3:44am. Damn....
I laid there for another 20-minutes before deciding there was no way I was going back to sleep, especially since I could think of three-hundred and one things I needed to do--write, dishes, start a load of laundry, organize everything, pay a few bills...
I crawled out of bed like a ninja so I wouldn't wake the wild-child or his wild-father... I spent the next three hours organizing my life and home and getting work done.
Ollie wakes around 7:30am and he looks awful. Sad eyes, runny nose, yucky cough. Since we had our 'Three year-old well-baby check-up' later that day, I opted to wait for the appointment, rather then run him to the pediatrician's early morning walk-in hours.
Of course, even though Ollie looked and felt like crap, he could still play like a champion. In four minutes flat, he wrecked the house... I just organized!!! I was too tired to protest or fix the mess. Surely, he couldn't be that sick! I put up with his wild nonsense until nap-time.
I tried to get him to sleep early since our appointment was at 1:45. AS IF! He fell asleep at 12:30. Leaving just enough time to take a deep breath, eat lunch, wake him up and dress him for his appointment.
Not like I wanted to nap too or anything...
When we arrived for the appointment, I notified the nurse we were most likely turning the appointment into a "sick-baby" check-up. The pediatrician confirmed that when he started checking Ollie's ears, nose and throat.
I braced myself for strep.
Pediatrician: Has he complained about his ears hurting? Because if they were my ears, I'd be screaming and crying. He has an ear infection in the right side, and fluid building in the left.
WHAT?
Ear infection?
He complained about his ears the night before, but only briefly. My poor guy!
Pediatrician: I'm going to give him antibiotics today, then do his well-baby check-up in two weeks when you come back for a follow-up.
After the appointment, I drove right the pharmacy, only to be told our new insurance was not working.
I HATE HUMANA!!!! HATE! HATE! HATE!!!
Two hours of bouncing around between member services operators and a lot of F-bombs later, I find out that our insurance is not going to be valid until I pay the bill. Even though the email I received said pay by the 15th. So, fine, I pay the premium. I'm then told that the payment will not process for 48-72 hours.
WTF?! I need antibiotics! I am furious at this point. The operator I spoke with could not see the urgency of getting my insurance on track.
I tried not to lose my shit on the billing lady... "Clearly, you don't have children, because you think it's OK that you are telling me my insurance will not be active for 2-3 days, meaning I can't pick up my son's antibiotics. Please, if you can't help me, I need to talk to someone who can!"
CRICKETS! I heard fucking crickets!!!!!
The operator finally says, no I don't have kids. I still cannot help you. You will have to wait until the payment processes. "Sorry for the confusion" and "sorry for the inconvenience," was all I got before the operator hung up.
As much as I wanted to scream, I stayed focused on the goal: get my child the antibiotics he needs.
By the time the two hour insurance saga cam to a close, FTD was home. I told him I was going to find a way to get Ollie his antibiotics, and would be back. I knew Kroger did reduced cost antibiotics, so I drove over to the Kroger pharmacy, explained my problem and asked what I should do. The girl called Walgreens, transferred Ollie's prescription, filled it and it only cost me $8!!!! (Thank you SO much KROGER!!!!)
Mission accomplished.
THREE HOURS after leaving his appointment!
I gave him his antibiotics, dinner, a bath and tucked him in bed.
After a few minutes of cuddles, I go to crawl out of bed, when Ollie reaches up, grabs my face, gives me a kiss and says, "I love you, mommy."
My heart melted. My day from hell melted away. I'm so blessed to have my beautiful baby boy...
As he slid his hand off my face, I noticed the faint smell of pee.
Ollie, did you just have your hand in your diaper?
Ollie: Yes, mommy. I was playing with my schwantzel.
Me: Buddy! That's not a good one! I'll be right back, we need to wash your hand off. No more playing with your schwantzel tonight, please.
As I walked out of the bedroom, pee streaked across my face, I had to smile.
This. Is. Motherhood.
And I wouldn't trade it for the world...
