You might not know this, but I'm currently poor. By some accounts, I'm even homeless. You'd think that would make things easier for me in some ways, like getting government assistance. Ironically it made things more difficult. I talked to an insurance agent weekly, and called him daily in an effort to make sure our application for coverage was accepted. Finally it was, but our son? He didn't exist. So for the last three months I've been fighting to get my dear sweet boy health coverage through that lovely government program, MediCal.
Don't get me wrong. Without government assistance we'd be up a creek. Kiddo would be one of the kids living in poverty without preventative care. That would truly be a travesty (and I'm not saying this because I'm biased).
Through a little pushing and pulling we finally got an application through, but of course it would take another 45 days to be processed. Fortunately California has temporary coverage that it offers (I'm not sure if it's only for babies, for kids, or for anyone). All I can say is, I just about kissed the ground when I found out about this.
So we scheduled an appointment with the clinic in Lompoc. Christian couldn't come with me because he was working, so I asked my dad to come with me. I thought it would be easier to handle kiddo with vaccines etc if I had another person with me. I was right.
Our appointment was at 2. We arrived around 1:45. I had to fill out at least 6 forms. Once those were through we had to wait. This was difficult because the room was full of families and at least one child under two who from now on will be called "The Banshee." Kiddo was not pleased. He didn't cry, but he was wary of how loud the room was. He's my son - he likes quiet.
Finally we got called back to get kiddo measured and filter any questions I had. The nurse said kiddo looked just like his dad. I wanted to say, "How would you know?" but then I realized she was talking about my dad. I smiled politely and said, "That's his grandfather." I couldn't tell if she thought my dad was my father-in-law or what, because she said some strange things which I ignored.
After kiddo was measured with something akin to a medieval torture device, we went back to the lobby with a diaper only kiddo wrapped in a blanket. Impossibly, the lobby was even MORE full. Now the Banshee's wails were joined by the squeals of several children chasing one another. Kiddo started fussing almost immediately. It was his nap time. He was tired. He was hungry. He was annoyed by these loud children. First I tried to jiggle him. Then I tried to feed him a bottle of milk I'd brought. Then I tried to rock him. Finally, I got him to stop fussing by playing with him and making him laugh. His laugh was so loud and so sweet the room got quiet to listen. I noticed other children and parents watching me play with my very fair, now very smiley baby. When I sensed the play was coming to the end of its effectiveness, my dad handed me kiddo's pacifier which I promptly stuffed in his mouth. He went to sleep immediately. I shushed him and rocked him back and forth to cover the noise of the playing children, but most of the people nearby were quiet. They watched me, marveling at how kiddo went to sleep in an instant while other children fussed at having to wait. I felt like a superhero.
Eventually they called kiddo's name and we went back to see a doctor. She, like most people, fell in love with him immediately. She was impressed I give him Vitamin D drops daily and that we cloth diaper at home. Everything looked healthy and perfect. Kiddo is still around 95% for height (28 inches), but he's dropped down the % in weight at 19 lbs 8 oz (a good thing I think). His head circumference has stayed the same % it's been the whole time (75%). She advised me that he wouldn't have to have some of the shots from the 4 month visit that he missed because the vulnerability wasn't there any more (thanks health care!). Basically, he was lucky he didn't get sick.
Insert: frown
She then told me I could introduce solids, like rice cereal, if I wanted to, but I didn't have to (which is good because I don't want to - but I might get iron drops because it seems like we'll need them). I was also advised to get sunblock because it's fine to use on babies 6 months and older (we picked some up today). The one thing she said which I struggled with was the fact that she mentioned we should get him to sleep on his own.
Ha! That will be a separate post. Yeah. It's that good.
After we finished with the doctor, we waited in a different area next to the lab where they give vaccines. Kiddo was happy and smiley at all the people walking by. When we were called into the lab a few minutes later he smiled at the tech. He smiled in between swallows of his oral vaccine. And then she stuck him in his left thigh. He was quiet for a second and then wailed. Then I had to turn him and he was temporarily distracted by a cap on the counter before she stuck his right thigh once, and then twice. He was miserable. I hugged him as tight as I could, but unlike his earlier pediatricians' offices, I couldn't nurse him. We were directed to a nearby room to dress him and as soon as we got his shirt on I gave him the bottle of milk. He calmed immediately. I held him all the way to the car, along with the milk.
By the time we got to the car, he seemed pretty happy. His infrequent sniffs were nearly gone. By the time we got home, he was his normal happy self. I gave him some pain medicine, and he slept... for 2 hours straight. He woke for a little while and then he went back to sleep.
Then in the middle of the night he woke up crying, then he started to choke. It sounded like he was throwing up, but it was gurgling. In between this he wailed. I turned his body on the side like I was taught at so many swim classes. Whatever it was came out. He wailed. His body felt extremely hot. I'd forgotten he'd gotten a fever the last time he'd been vaccinated and I freaked out. I started to peel off his sleeper. It was too warm. Kiddo screamed. I told Christian to get the Ibuprofen and dropper. I got the sleeper off and I nursed kiddo while Christian came back with the Ibuprofen. By that time, kiddo was calm and easily took the medicine. Christian changed his diaper which was unusually full for that time of night and then I nursed him. He fell asleep, waking in fits and wanting to nurse throughout the night. It was a long night for everyone, and while his fever was significantly less in the morning, I was still a little anxious.
I didn't want to have to deal with the clinic again and I didn't want kiddo to be ill, even if it was a fairly normal reaction to a vaccine at such a young age. Thankfully, kiddo is a healthy little boy. Though his legs were definitely sore today, his temperature was back to normal 24 hours after his shots. He was the happy-go-lucky little boy that everyone loves, except now he's protected from polio and whooping cough thanks to MediCal.
No comments:
Post a Comment