Over the summer, Brandt finally had the chance to be a kid. I let appointments slip and afforded him more time to play. It was the first time in his life we weren't hustling from appointment to appointment--the first time we were able to enjoy a "normal" life.
But, by the end of the summer, it was back to reality. I crunched all doctor appointments into the last little glimmer of summer.
The ENT went ok. Brandt has one loose tube that the doctor will try to remove at the next visit--yay. Hopefully they will both be out soon. After all, what is summer without carefree swimming and splashing?!?! And, with tubes, the beach is a huge risk. Sand is the biggest danger with tubes. So hopefully we can put all the extra precautions behind us soon.
During the visit, the doctor did briefly scold me on canceling an appointment. But, of course, he is not the one taking off work to drive two and a half hours to Miami Children's Hospital. But, he only made a short remark about it, so I just left that alone.
Next, we followed up with the neuro-ophthalmologist. This appointment was far less productive and far more irritating. It seems at all the appointment, all he does is give Brandt a five minute look over, bill us, and send us on our way.
Well, once again, I cancelled an appointment. Personally, I do not understand why he needs his eyes checked every 3 months. Nothing is going to change that drastically in such a short period of time--and if it did, THEN I would call and have him seen. But, every 3 months for nothingness just seems like a billing scheme to me.... I'm just saying.
And, yes, this doctor really called me out for missing the appointment. And since he decided to make a production of it, I asked him what he was looking for that Brandt needed to be seen every 3months. Of course, it offended him, but if he is going to jump in my business without knowing the circumstances, then he better be prepared for my to jump in his business. But, whatever....
So, Dr. Doofus gave us picture cards to practice with Brandt--much like black and white hieroglyphics. He has six pictures that he is supposed to be able to identify at various sizes... Basically like an adult's vision test--but with pictures.
The problem is--he may look at the picture and know in his head it is a duck, but that does not mean he is going to say duck. He might call it a snake or a train--with a straight face--just for the hell of it. The other day I was doing a puzzle with him, and he called the turtle a snake. I don't know why he call it a snake. He knows what a turtle is. He has identified them in person, on TV, in cartoons, and with the puzzle thousands of times. That is just his personality. --And there is not trying to correct him, he'll just scream, "no!"
And, then there is teaching him the cards. This kid has no attention span. He is little and curios--and he isn't about to sit and look at black and white hieroglyphics! So, we will see how I will find a way to teach him the pictures.
Oh well. So, we will see how this vision test goes in three months. But, I am betting far less productive than anticipated.
Last year I missed 20 days of work (many unpaid), drove all over Florida, and spent thousands in health care. I don't need any lectures from doctors. After all the beatings I took for missing appointments, I am done for a while... Well, until October, that is.
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