Sports Physical...for Toddlers...

For the upcoming fall "term," I've decided to disenroll Tay from the ballet class she has been taking now for 9 months (mainly due to a teacher change) and give her a chance at trying out a "Tiny Tumblers" class which is a gymnastics class for tots on base.  I had wanted to enroll her for a while, but I was always told that there was a wait list of over 50 people, so I didn't think there would ever be a chance for her to get into the class.  Anyhow, the teacher opened up a second (and a third, I think) class, so we finally got her into it.  Enrolling took me about four hours of waiting, but I'm hoping the wait was worth it.  We went to the first class and she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit, but it was a little chaotic because her little buddy was also in the same class and she just wanted to goof off after she got a little comfortable in the class.  Anyhow, I think she'll develop some stronger gross motor skills through this class, so I look forward to her participation in the class in the upcoming weeks. 

Anyhow, for the enrollment process, I was told Tay had to get a "sports physical" within the first 30 days of her enrollment.  I thought..."sports physical" for a toddler?  What could that possibly entail?  Well, pretty much it's just a general check up (like a 2-year check up for a toddler) where they make sure she's a "healthy" child with no underlying conditions that might prevent her from participating fully in whatever activity she was enrolled in...

So, I scheduled an appointment for her at the Army hospital...perhaps against my better judgment.  More about that later.  Anyway, I was told there might be an extravagant charge since I'm not military, so I had to check into that before getting her physical.  We wandered all over that hospital being redirected a few times, but finally did get a satisfactory answer that there would be no charge because it was specifically for her to participate in a Child, Youth Services (CYS) program.  Sweet. 

On to the appointment.  We checked in at pediatrics and after a short wait, we were called in to get her "vitals" and general information.  Tay was a little shy at first and didn't want to get weighed and measured, but after a brief explanation of what the machine does (and reminding her that she has done this before) helped her bravely stand on the machine herself and stand up straight.  She measured at a tall 2 feet and 11 inches and weighed in at 32.6 pounds.  My big girl!  :)  They also used a neat little gadget to measure her "oxygen saturation level" by sticking a little bandaid-like sticker on her thumb...didn't know they could do that.  We answered some general questions and then we went back out to the waiting area to wait for the doctor consult. 

After waiting a bit, we were called in to meet with the Doc.  She was fantastic and Tay was suprisingly comfortable with her, so she sat up really straight on the little examination bed edge while I sat next to her in the chair.  The doc checked her eyes, mouth and teeth, ears, etc., and she did exactly as the doc asked her to...then the doc took her shirt off to check her breathing and heart.  Tay sat super-still while the doc listened to her chest and back, all the while glancing over at me to see if I was watching and then grinning a bit and then getting the serious face again as the doc continued to listen.  When she was asked to take a few deep breaths, she took really deep breaths, all the while moving her little shoulders up and down to emphasize the depth of her breath...:)  Very adorable. 

Tay had gotten a bump on her head the night before, so the doc asked her during the check up what happened.  Tay's response:  "Yester-time, I FELL down and BUMPED my head on the floor.  Mommy got green boo-boo cream and she put some boo-boo cream on my boo-boo.  Then it felt MUCH better.  I all better now."  All of this with hand gestures and VERY expressive and explanatory facial expressions...:)  The doc said that it was the best description of how a boo-boo happened she has ever heard...and that she gets less detailed descriptions from teenagers.  Hilarious.  The doc said her speech development is very mature and advanced for her age as is her height and weight, so she seems more like a three or four year old rather than a two and a half year old...not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, so I'm just going to take it as a good thing.  One thing that she did mention that scared me a bit was that Tay has a "functional heart murmur."  Whenever you hear the term "heart murmur," it's a little scary, but the doctor said that it's actually pretty common in young children because their chest cavity is very shallow so sometimes you can hear the blood rushing in and out of the heart.  Nothing irregular or unhealthy about it.  As they grow older, it will probably go away as her chest cavity gets thicker, but she also said that if she gets sick, the sound may get a little louder or more noticeable.  She assured me that it was nothing to worry about and definitely not a  health concern...but still...I'm a little worried.  Eh.  I googled it, too, when I got back, and it told me the same thing...I should just relax.

Anyhow, the doc said that since Korean hospitals normally don't check for lead content or anemia for toddlers, she would put in an order to the lab so Tay could get checked.  I asked her what that entailed and she assured me that it would be just a finger prick.  As usual, I explained to Tay what we were going to do after we left the doctor's office (I generally do, especially if she's going to get a shot or something...it helps her prepare herself and she's a little less upset about the whole ordeal).

Here is the "MORE" part that I referenced earlier...about why I question my judgment when I go to an Army hospital.

When I got to the lab, it appeared that there were many people waiting to be helped.  We went up to the desk to sign in (or check in or something) and the young Soldier (clearly having a bad day) at the computer was leaned back in his chair.  I handed him my ID card (I had done this many times before when I was active duty and had blood drawn, etc., for my first pregnancy) and told him I was here for my toddler's finger prick to check anemia and lead.  He slowly sat up, took my ID, let out a big sigh, and started typing on his computer.  Not a word to me yet.  Meanwhile, Tay, Beth and I are just standing there...he hands me back my ID, sighs again, and continues typing.  We're all still just standing there...I'm thinking, should we sit down now or just stand here?  Anyhow, after he gets done typing or so, he sighs again, gets up, picks up something from the printer and walks away from the desk and toward the next room where they do the blood draws...still hasn't said a word to us yet...we're still standing there.  He's almost in the next room and then he looks back at us still standing there and says, "You need to come over here."  Well, now I'm getting a little irritated...

We follow him into the side room and he says, "Sit down" and points to a chair.  I'm about to say something about professionalism and customer service, but I bite my tongue and just give him the benefit of the doubt that he's probably just having a bad day (it's only 1030).  I sit down and place Tay on my lap and he starts to pull out some supplies...and I notice a regular blood draw needle and a regular vial.  I remind him that it's not me getting blood drawn...that it is my toddler who is here for a finger prick.  He tells me, "No, the order is for blood draw."  I tell him, "The pediatrition told us 'finger prick'" for both anemia check and lead check."  I ask him to recheck the order.  He pulls out the labels he printed out and looks at it again.  Then he SIGHS and ROLLS HIS EYES and walks out of the room.  Now I'm really irritated.  A short while later, the Soldier comes back in followed by another young Soldier, a Specialist.  Right in front of me, the Soldier hands the labels to the Specialist and says, "She wants a finger prick for this." The Specialist looks at the two labels and says, "Yes, this label is for a finger prick, and this label can be done by blood draw or a finger prick, but it's at the discretion of the patient."  AT THE DISCRETION OF THE PATIENT.  Obviously, I want a finger prick for my toddler...not a BLOOD DRAW...especially if I have the OPTION.  Then, the Soldier proceeds to sigh AGAIN and then say right in front of me, "I can still do this as a blood draw, though."  WHAT?  NO.  You cannot do this as a blood draw anyway because I am the patient's guardian and you are NOT drawing blood from my toddler when  you have the option of doing it via finger prick.  The Specialist is now getting uncomfortable and tells the Soldier again that it is AT THE DISCRETION OF THE PATIENT and that although it might be a little harder for him to do the test via finger prick, he should still do it via finger prick.  Then again, the Soldier ROLLS HIS EYES AND LETS OUT ANOTHER SIGH and says again, "But I can do the blood draw instead, right?"  WHAT THE...

NOW I'M REALLY ANGRY. 

I interrupt the conversation and ask the Specialist if I have to get this done TODAY.  He politely tells me, "No, Ma'am, you have 60 days from when the order is placed by the doctor to get it done."  I stand up holding Tay and say, "We're NOT doing this today" and we walk out of there...me, FUMING.  That Soldier better be glad I didn't get his name (I was only seeing RED by this point) or slugged  him right then because a pregnant woman who's trying to protect her child is NOT someone you want ANGRY.

Only because Tay was right there with me did I even maintain my calmness and sanity because had she not been there and had gotten that sort of attitude from a Soldier, I think I might have yelled him and asked to talk to the first field grade officer in his chain of command.  These are the times I wish I was still in uniform so I could snap that young Soldier to attention and explain to him what proper professionalism is and how he needs to treat all of his customers, ESPECIALLY patients who may be nervous about getting a needle stuck in their arm or finger or wherever.  ARG!

So...now the question is, do I actually go back to that lab to get her finger prick done or do I just go off post and ask for lead and anemia testing at her normal pediatrician?  I haven't made that decision yet. 

As we walked out, I think Tay could sense my frustration and she asked, "Umma, what happened?  Where we going?  What happened?"  I just told her that we're going home and that she did a GREAT JOB at the doctor.  Her response, "Thank you, Umma."  Smile. 

My big girl...so grown up.  :)