Dr., Dr., and more Dr.

The month of May has been full of doctor visits for our family. Some of them scheduled (good), some of them unplanned (not so good).

Good:
-Ramona's 4 year well-care visit. She's bigger and taller and even more verbose than last year.

-OB visits for baby #3. It has a heartbeat!

Not-so-good:
-Mika's visit to urgent care for her "ouchie" arm. She was suddenly refusing to use her left arm--it was always just hanging limp at her side. Every time we tried to dress or undress her, she would cry and yell: "Ouchie! Ouchie!"
  The doctor only looked at her arm for a couple of seconds before he said "Nursemaid's Elbow" and after he flexed her inflicted elbow a couple of times, she started using it normally again. Apparently toddlers get this all the time--a little dislocation in their elbow that is fairly easy to pop back in place. Still had to have a couple of x-rays just in case, but the problem was solved.

 -Memorial Day trip to the ER after Ramona showed symptoms of a possible seizure. Foam at the mouth, eyes rolled back in her head, completely unresponsive. By the time we got to the hospital, she was finally aware enough to cry--a relief to see. It was terrifying to see her in that pale, unconscious state . . . I found myself wondering if I was going to lose my little girl that day.
   The ER doctor seemed fairly certain the symptoms we described indicated a seizure triggered by a bodily infection. They ran just about every test on her at the hospital: ruled out meningitis, strep, urinary tract infection, flu. I've never seen her poked and prodded so many times. She ended up getting an ambulance ride to a different hospital so she could stay the night in a unit with pediatric staff. I rode along with her, shoeless and disheveled from the rush and panic of the afternoon. By this point, Ramona was jabbering away with the EMT's and looked as alert as her usual self.
   Despite her perkiness, she was still checked in to her room and she and I prepared ourselves for a night at the hospital. Forest and Mika came later to drop off some supplies and give Ramona a blessing.
   Finally at 4pm the next day we checked out of the hospital. Until then, Ramona was still acting herself--ate like a horse and even threw a couple of tantrums. All we can do now is hope that her seizure was just a one-time occurrence.

Ramona with her hospital band, resting on the handmade blanket she got to bring home with her