Doctor Appointments Galore

This week's appointments included Michael's 4 year checkup, his annual orthopedic follow-up and his weekly physical therapy appointment. His 4 year checkup and annual orthopedic follow-up went well, the PT not so much.

He had his 4 year checkup on Tuesday. When we got there, he had his hearing check, which he passed. That was a relief to me since he had his first ear infection last month since getting tubes shortly before he turned 1. He was not so into getting his finger pricked but I don't blame him one bit. Right after that, the nurse asked him to pee in a cup but he was too fixated on his finger, especially since she wanted to give him a bandaid and he doesn't like them.

The doctor came in and we went over development questions. We also talked about behavior, discipline, eating and his follow-up appointments with his various specialists for Marfan syndrome. Michael weighed 35 pounds (50%) and was 41 inches tall (75%). At the end of the appointment, the doctor let us know that there would be 4 shots today. When Michael heard this, he was not happy. Thankfully, I had Todd there for support. I freak out when I am getting a shot and I can't stand needles. Michael put up a bit of a fight but they were over quickly and he only cried for about 5 minutes. After a look at the prize box, he picked a flashlight and bubble crayon. We went to McDonald's after the appointement for lunch as a treat!

Michael's orthopedic follow-up was yesterday. We went in to the exam room and the nurse came in to ask us a few questions. After we talked for a few minutes, a tech came in to take Michael to get an x-ray of his back and feet. Michael is already being seen for scoliosis. I also wanted the doctor to look at his flat feet, which is a common trait of Marfan patients. The doctor said that his scoliosis is mild at this time, which was a relief. He has custom inserts for his feet and goes to physical therapy once a week. At this time, we are doing all that we can for Michael per the doctor. That is what we wanted to know so we will continue to take the wait and see approach.

Finally, we had PT today. The therapist and I talked about Michael's appointment yesterday with the orthopedic doctor and then they went into the gym. After a few minutes, I heard Michael having a tantrum but the therapist was handling it. They went into the back of the gym but he never calmed down. I ended up going to the back and tried to get Michael to calm down. At that point, I knew that he wasn't going to be able to do anything but head out to the car to calm down. After we got out to the car, he finally was able to stop crying and fell asleep on our car ride home.

I guess 2 out of 3 ain't bad. And thankfully, the one that he chose not to cooperate for is the one that we go to every week so it's not like we can't try again next week. In hindsight, it was probably appointment overload but sometimes it just happens like that.