Something to Celebrate

Binker has been feverish and lethargic all week. He just wasn't getting any better, so last night my mom and I took him to the walk-in clinic in town. I can't even begin to tell you how much I hate taking Binker to the doctor's office; I try to avoid it at ALL costs. 

When you have a child with autism, you quickly learn the places and situations that can be upsetting for them, whether it causes anxiety, or, for some, can cause a sensory overload. Thankfully, Binker doesn't have a lot of sensory issues, and things such as trips to the grocery store, or loud, crowded, brightly-lit places are a non-issue for him. However, Binker has the most amazing memory, and when he has a bad experience someplace, he never forgets. This can pose a problem when we have to make repeat trips back to said place.

And, the doctor's office happens to be a place that causes major anxiety for him.

I blame his former pediatrician. Binker was never comfortable being poked and prodded, especially when sick, and I found the doctor to be impatient and irritated, he just didn't seem best suited as a pediatrician. Kids pick up on those kinds of things, too. They can tell when someone isn't being kind or patient with them. Worst of all, this doctor made Binker's ears bleed on two SEPARATE visits, while poking in his ears. Seriously? Maybe someone needs to go back to medical school. I just don't see how you repeatedly do this, and then still get mad when your patient (who is a toddler), starts screaming. So, after those visits, Binker, with good reason, was pretty much over the whole doctor thing.

The last straw for me was when this doctor first brought up the subject of autism with us, by holding up a questionnaire I had filled out about our son, and he had written a huge "FAIL" at the top in purple marker. I felt he showed no empathy or compassion. And I was done.

At the suggestion of a friend of mine, we changed to Dr. B, who is nearly an hour south of where we live. She has been an MD for about 25 years, but she took a decade off to study naturopathy. This makes her special, because she believes that dietary changes and supplements can have a positive effect on autism - which makes her incredibly rare among doctors today. Many doctors think parents who put their kids on the "autism diet" are literally crazy; our former pediatrician was of this thought process as well, (another reason I was happy to be rid of him). During Binker's first appointment with Dr. B she allotted us double the time of a normal appointment, without me even asking for it. She was incredibly kind and gentle with Binker. She was very understanding with me as a parent dealing with autism, and she answered all of my questions, and gave me suggestions of things we could do that had worked positively in some other children with autism. 

After sticking to a special diet and adding in supplements for four months, we went back for a check up with Dr. B. I was excited to tell her about how well Binker was doing, and all of the positive changes I had seen in him. She was thrilled for our family, and, best of all, Binker did awesome at the appointment. He sat patiently in his chair, let the doctor listen to his heart and lungs and look in his ears, and he even smiled for her a few times. It was clear that the doctor's office was no longer a frightening, anxiety-inducing place for him. In fact, for an entire week after that appointment, Binker kept saying, "I like Dr. B!" 

Nowadays, taking him to the doctor is nowhere near as overwhelming as it used to be. Binker even gets upset when I take Bug or Boo to the doctor and he doesn't get to go! 

So back to this week. I knew something was wrong when I couldn't get Binker's fever to subside, so we took him to the walk in clinic last night. I was a little nervous because he wasn't going to be seeing Dr. B, and, the walk in clinic we went to is where his old pediatrician works, so I was afraid, with his memory, that he might think he was going to see the old guy.

To my surprise, Binker waited patently in the waiting room, looking at the fish tank and just walking around checking things out. When it was our turn, he got a little anxious, but I gave him a musical toy to play with in the exam room, and that was a great distraction. When the on-call doctor came in, I almost prefaced the appointment by telling her he has autism, but I decided to keep my mouth shut, and just see how things went. I figured that if Binker wasn't cooperative with her then I could explain why. 

I didn't need to.

Binker let her listen to his chest, and look in his ears (and diagnose his ear infection), without much problem at all. Afterward she let him pick out a sticker, he chose a green dinosaur. I felt elated as we walked out of the doctor's office. This is a huge step for him, just one of many that he has made. He has come such a long way in overcoming his doctor anxiety, and I am so proud of him. 

This Was All My Fault

So it's been over a month since I last posted on my blog.  

(I am doing AWESOME at keeping my New Year Goals).

We've been pretty busy though, and it's all my fault. 

It started on a Monday. My mom was accompanying the boys and me on a shopping trip, and I mentioned to her that I couldn't believe we had made it so far through the winter season without anyone needing to go to the doctor. Immediately after that I said, "Knock on wood!" 

In our Toyota, however, there is a shortage of wood. So I just knocked on the plastic dashboard and called it good.

Well, the next day, I noticed Binker wasn't acting like himself. On Tuesday night he woke up screaming three different times, and for the next few days he was just fussy and unhappy. I realized something was definitely wrong when I bought him McDonald's for lunch and he wouldn't even touch it.

Things really came to a head that Friday night at 5pm - of course. Right when the doctor's office closed.

I was hoping we would make it through the weekend, but by Saturday evening we found ourselves with a screaming, fussing toddler, who was impossible to console. It was decided that Sunday morning I would take him to the doctor's office to be checked out.

We showed up only an hour after the walk-in clinic opened, and they were already packed. We got in line, with three people ahead of us. Even though Binker hadn't been to the doctor since September, I think he remembered the place, because as soon as we walked in there, he was screaming, and trying to crawl out of the stroller. He didn't want to read any of the books I brought for him, and he didn't want to sing any songs or play any games. He just wanted OUTTA THERE.

This lovely old man that was standing directly in front of us in line kept turning around to give us dirty looks, as if I could somehow shut Binker up. There were so many things I wanted to say to that guy, like:

"We're not at a library. This is a doctor's office, where people come when they are sick. He is a toddler and he is sick. Take a chill pill!"

"If his screaming is bothering you, then turn off your hearing aid!"

"Stop being a jerk face!"

Once it was finally our turn, we found out what the long wait was for. Apparently our clinic just installed a brand new computer system, which meant that instead of simply being able to check-in, like normal, every single person coming into the clinic had to provide their name, address, insurance information, photo ID, social security number, mom's maiden name, the year they graduated from high school, first pet's name, and favorite color. Then you had to sign three different documents that I really don't remember what they were each for, because the entire time the receptionist was explaining them to me Binker was screaming at the top of his lungs since we had already waited in line for 25 minutes and this woman had been talking to me for another five.

When we were finally checked in, and had been told that it would be AN HOUR WAIT, I looked around the waiting room for a good spot to sit. I was so tempted to go seat ourselves right next to the old man who had been in front of us in line, since he seemed to enjoy Binker's screaming so much. But I resisted.

Instead, we found a quiet corner by ourselves next to the big fish tank. That kept Binker occupied for a total of three minutes. Then we read book after book after book until they thankfully called his name.

Even though the whole waiting process had been a nightmare, the doctor got to our room quickly and it only took him about two seconds to realize that Binker had an ear infection, (almost a double ear infection). I was so relieved to have a diagnosis, I just knew something was wrong with the poor kid.

Binker was NOT happy to have the doctor poking around in his ears, so to make amends he gave Binker two Thomas the Train stickers, which seemed to be an acceptable peace offering. We raced over to the pharmacy afterward, where Binker got two more stickers! You could just see it in his eyes: BEST DAY EVER!

Thankfully, after 10 days of that good old bubblegum-flavored Amoxicillin, (holy cow did the smell bring back memories), Binker's ear infection was all cleared up and he was feeling much better.

I learned an important lesson in all of this: to keep my mouth shut from now on, and hopefully everyone will stay healthy.