Today we went to the pediatrician for clearance there. And that's when the wheels on the train stopped dead. Jack's regular pediatrician has leukemia and is not in the office, so we have to see another pediatrician in the office. She is not someone who normally sees Jack. After waiting much longer than we should have had to we finally got called into a room. She listened to Jack's breathing and thought she heard a slight wheeze. She had Jack lay down so she could feel his belly and he coughed a little as he was laughing because her touching his belly tickled him so he choked on some spit. She sat him back up and listened to him again. She said he sounded clear.
She asked about Jack's cough and I explained that he gets a sort of lingering cough every year after he's had his first cold of the season - which he had about 3 or 4 weeks prior. I told her we had been to the asthma doctor the night before and he put Jack on Pulmicort and cleared him for the surgery. She then started reviewing the paperwork I had given her from the hospital. Then she decided to take another listen to Jack. It was then that you could hear the screeching brakes. She again said she thought she heard a slight wheeze and that given Jack's history of respiratory issues she was not going to clear him for the surgery and I would have to bring him back.
I cannot tell you how many thoughts and emotions went through my brain at that moment. First let's got with the immediate thoughts; those being that she does not know my child. Jack does not have respiratory issues. He has a condition where his throat swells that know one knows the cause of. He cannot breathe because his throat is swelling; not because he has respiratory issues. He also has asthma and is had been quite cold in out area for the previous week. Asthmatics can wheeze when it gets cold outside. And let's not forget that the asthma is not a condition I am relying on the pediatrician's office to manage - he sees a specialist for that - a specialist he saw last night and was given surgical clearance by.
The next set of thoughts that went though my mind were of the our schedule for the remainder of the week. There is something planned for every night this week. Granted some of them are not related tot he surgery such as our haircuts and a few park district programs, but they are important nonetheless. We have two thing scheduled on Friday, the day she wants him brought back. Obviously I need to make time for this appointment, but how do fit that in? We have Pie with Your Small Fry at little school and a Lego park district programs; both things Jack is really looking forward to.
The next thing that goes through my mind is this will be another visit. Because these are not well visits, but are pre-surgical visits there is a co-pay due for the visits. I really cannot afford another co-pay because someone who is not my child's normally pediatrician is sticking her nose into a condition that she doesn't understand and is not her responsibility to manage.
And let's not forget the surgery is Tuesday! I have no idea how the hospital will feel about not receiving clearance until Friday/Monday and I cannot call and speak to someone because I sat in the waiting room for 45 minutes past my appointment time while no one else came in or left.
The surgery is Tuesday! It has been scheduled for about 6 months! This is not some simple nail appointment I can reschedule. There is more involved here than just surgery. There's school, daycare, medical equipment, work, etc. that has been scheduled with this date as the surgical date.
I realize this may sound like I am a horrible mother. Believe me if Jack were sick I would not let the surgery go as planned. Jack is not sick. And this is being done at a well respected hospital. There's no way they would allow the procedure to happen if he were sick.
So here I sit with everything planned for surgery on Tuesday - 7 days! All I can do is proceed as the surgery will happen, make sure Jack does his nebulizer treatments, pray and go back on Friday. Who would have thunk I would find myself praying the surgery happens. Pray for us as well?
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