December 3, 2009
A few weeks previously, and very fed-up with the lack of concrete answers I was getting from the pediatric gastroenterologist, I called Dr. Sotomayor's office to make an allergy appointment for William. I remember the day specifically. I had a screaming, inconsolable William on my hip and very little left in me to try to appease him. We had just gotten our new 2010 insurance cards in the mail and I just stared at the line, "no referral necessary." Although the pediatrician was ensuring me William was too young for allergy testing and his "allergy" needs would be adequately monitored by the gastroenterologist, I felt the need to call the office and make sure this was the case. The secretary I spoke to on the phone said William could be seen by their office, no matter his age. The only problem, their first available appointment was on Dec. 24th. Although it was not what I was expecting to do on that day at 9:30am, I accepted the appointment and then slowly broke-down to the woman as I asked, "do you happen to have a cancellation list....I have a very sick 6 month old who I'm desperate to be seen."
To my surprise, I got a call the following day offering a December 3rd appointment, for which I couldn't accept fast enough.
Grammy shared my concerns for William and took the afternoon off to join us at the appointment. Dr. Shaeffer entered the room and very shortly after said, "this kid does not just have food allergies." She was concerned with William's pallor color appearance and his significant swelling. Dr. Shaeffer promptly called the pediatrician and together they compiled an extensive list of blood work to order, as well as a chest x-ray.
As Dr. Shaeffer left the room, William immediately lit up and started kissing me profusely. Both Grammy and I felt as though he knew his needs were heard...finally....
After the appointment, we went directly to have the labs drawn and the x-ray completed. If you've never had to have your baby go through a chest x-ray, be thankful. They placed him in a very archaic tube contraption that held his arms over his head. Poor William screamed his head off, while I couldn't stop laughing. After months of William crying for what seemed to be no reason, I kept telling him, "finally, this is a reason to cry, William."
Seriously, I think everyone in the imaging center thought I was legitimately crazy...
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