Urgent Care - Tyler Hansbrough Style

I can't believe that it took us 3 years and 10 months before Deuce had his first visit to the Urgent Care for stitches. As active as he is and as hard as he plays, it's a miracle that we haven't ended up there before. It was the afternoon of the Duke/Carolina game and Ed and TJ stopped to pick Deuce up from school. He was so excited to see them that he took off running across the classroom, tripped and smacked his head on the edge of a table. He hit his brow bone perfectly so that it split open, much like a boxer when they are punched. Ed said it immediately started gushing blood and he started crying. I was leaving work so I rushed back to Greensboro to meet them at the Urgent Care. Deuce is a momma's boy so I could only imagine his terror being stitched up and me not being there. I am sure I was making it much worse on myself than necessary but isn't that what we do as moms? So by the time I got to the Urgent Care they were still in the waiting room. Deuce had a single band aid over his eye that was soaked red with blood. But he was as happy as a clam. The first thing he said to me was, "Mom, I got bleed on my tarheel shirt." I think that was the most devastating part for him. He was finally brought back as the last patient of the evening and the only time he really cried a little was when they took the band-aid off. Other than that he was fine. We made it home just in time for the basketball game (thank goodness because it was a great one).

After they stitched him up, I ran to CVS to get some gauze pads. I was worried that he would try and pull the butterfly band aids off or scratch his eye while he was asleep. So I covered him in gauze and he thought it was the coolest thing ever. He couldn't stop looking at himself in the mirror and smiling. He tried to stay up for the basketball game but only made it to half time. He crashed in my bed. He is all healed now and just has a little line over his eye.

First Trip to the Dentist.

I took Deuce to the dentist for the first time a few weeks ago. I've never had a dentist in Greensboro. I've had the same dentist since I moved to Chapel Hill in 1988. The only place I've ever gone is to Dr. Seaton. I have such an extensive dental history that I needed to go by Dr. Seaton's and pick up my dental records to take with me to my new dentist. I was a little sentimental when I was in there and they showed me pictures of me and Laura when we were 6 & 4. 

I looked up the dentists in Greensboro that were covered by our dental insurance and selected Dr. Millsaps for a variety of reasons:

1. He's young. {As in about 3 years younger than me!} I like the idea of having a medical provider close to my age that I feel like I can relate to and is not going to talk to me like their child when they tell me how important it is to floss everyday {which I do actually - ask Ed!}.

2. It's a brand new office. Obviously since said doctor is about 27 years old, he has a new office with top of the line, brand new equipment. Seriously, who opens their own dental practice in their mid-twenties??

3. They are super busy. I don't know if it's because he has a slack schedule and likes to play golf more than work, but they are booking out appointments several months in advance. I took this as a sign that people really like this guy.
4. The most important reason of all!!

He is a UNC grad - both undergrad and dental school and he likes sports.

My mom spent so much money on my mouth at the UNC dental school while I was in college that I basically knew everyone that worked there from the receptionists, the students, the entodontists and the surgeons. Yes, my teeth just suck that bad.

Seriously, that's how I pick my doctors.

 I selected my OB to take care of me through my pregnancy because she went to undergrad at State (like me) and went to Med School at UNC so she liked both schools.

And she was awesome.

Anyway, I made the earliest appointment possible because we were going to the mountains that day. My mom came up to help me with Deuce so that after his check up was over, mom could take him out so I could get my teeth cleaned. It's amazing how quickly their little minds start putting pieces together. He's never minded going to the doctor prior to that CT scan, but as soon as we walked in to the dentist, he flipped. It was like the lobby area reminded him of that awful day. He wanted to be held the entire time. Lucky for us, the other patients scheduled at the same time as us had cancelled so we had the whole office to ourselves. Me, mom, Deuce, the doctor & the hygienist. It was great!

Dr. Millsaps decided to look at Deuce first and he was so good with him! He talked to Deuce, showed him pictures of his dogs, asked him about his beloved Curious George shirt and I was able to lay Deuce down on my stomach. He never loosened his grip on my wrists though. He let Dr. Millsaps examine him, scrape his teeth and floss him. Dr. Millsaps said Deuce has great spacing in between his teeth right now and they look good. He finished by letting Deuce pick out a new toothbrush, some flossies and a toy {of course he picked the ball}. Deuce did so good. I couldn't believe it. He doesn't need to go back until he's 3 for his first full cleaning and polishing. And ever since we went, Deuce brushes his teeth about 10 times a day.

After Deuce was done, it was my turn. Deuce was not happy about having to get down and leave me in there alone. Like he threw a fit. But you know what, Dr. Millsaps went out into the lobby with mom & Deuce & totally distracted him by playing with him the entire time I was getting my teeth cleaned by the hygienist. I'm talking he blew up gloves to be balloons that they were hitting all over the office, he showed Deuce how to juggle, they talked football and before I knew it, I was done and Deuce was in the lobby happy as could be. What kind of dentist does that?

A really good one.

One who's dad is a pediatrician.

A young one who has the energy and patience to deal with kids.

And one who graduated from UNC.

The appointment was exactly what I had hoped for: a positive experience that won't leave him freaked out for the next time he goes.

The news was not all good for me {I told you my teeth suck} but it's nothing compared to what I've been through in the past. Ed goes next week to meet Dr. Millsaps for the first time and I'm sure he's going to love him!

ENT Visit.

Soliciting advice on this post....

I decided to take Deuce to the ENT a few weeks back. For the past several months he has been really congested in the nose {not the chest} and sneezes all the time. He had that sinus infection back in like March or something and that cleared up with the antibiotics. I just chalked it up to spring allergies. I started giving him Claritin once a day. That stuff is expensive! When we went for the 2 year check up, I explained my concerns to the doctor and that I didn't really think the Claritin was doing too much. He says that he has often heard that Claritin is ineffective and that I should try the generic Zyrtec. I asked the doctor how long I should give it to him and that I don't want him to be given medicine every day if I don't have to. He said for a few weeks, through allergy season, wouldn't cause any sort of long term effects. So I bought several bottles of this stuff and we were giving it at bedtime, because a side effect was drowsiness. Deuce also snores when he sleeps and has bouts of what seems like apnea. I've never been a fan of him sleeping in the bed with us but even if I was, I couldn't because I listen for every single breath. So with the nasal congestion and the snoring, I decided it had to be more than allergies and maybe adenoids. I have heard many stories of children having their adenoids removed because of breathing problems. So I made an appointment with the ENT. I didn't call the pediatrician for a referral, I just went.

The office was really nice with a complete kiddie corner and a huge fish tank. He was mesmerized with the fish because there was a real, live Nemo in there. As soon as we went back to the room we had to wait about 15 minutes before the doctor came in {annoys me!}. Little dude tried to slip out and run like I wouldn't notice! 

 So we pulled out some toys to distract him until the doctor came in. This worked for all of 5 seconds before he was telling me "mommy car now."

 The doctor comes in and is really nice. He was great with Deuce and played "games" with him to get him to open his mouth. Deuce did great and the doc said that his tonsils look just fine. But because the adenoids are not visible to the eye, he wanted and "x-ray." I'm like okay, no problem. The "x-ray" was a CT scan machine. And it was traumatizing. He was scared to death and wouldn't lay down and be still. The little old lady nurse was so sweet and she kept talking to him and she let me stand right there with him but he wasn't having it. I finally had to tell her to go stand by the button and I would get him to lay down but she needed to be able to press it right away because he wasn't going to stay there for long. She agreed and when she left I talked to him but he looked me straight in the eyes and cried out "mommyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" I couldn't hold back my tears after that. And then I was mad at myself because him seeing me cry only confirmed to him that I was unhappy too, even if it wasn't because I was scared like he was. He held onto the doc's business card for dear life and didn't let go until we got in the car.

So, the conclusion of the visit?

His adenoids are only slightly enlarged, not worth doing anything with.

I shouldn't continue to give him the allergy medicine because it's not doing anything.

Don't worry about his sleep apnea, he'll be just fine. {really????}

That's all, have a good day.

So we have continued to sneeze, have a stuffy nose, snore and stop breathing at times when sleeping.

I have bought a new humidifier and he sleeps with that now.

His sleeping sucks.

He wakes up almost every night, at least one time and comes into the bedroom and wants me to put him back to bed. He won't let me leave until he's back asleep so I have to sit there with him. Then I am completely awake and can't go back to sleep. So I am getting 4-5 hours of interrupted sleep at night. He never calls for Ed in the middle of the night and if Ed tries to help, he won't have it and only wants mommy to do it. I am convinced that his apnea wakes him up at night, then he is scared {he sleeps with the light on now too} and he gets up to come get me.

Somebody help!

Any advice?

Do I go for a second opinion?

The "x-ray" that showed nothing left us with a $200 bill after insurance so I don't really want to do that again.

Make it stop.............