Everywhere around the world at this specific moment and time, hundreds of kids are going through the same, all-time traumatic event in their lives. Kindergarten shots. I remember this day so well…..
My mom packed us all up in the car to go to the doctor. Not so bad I think. We play doctor all the time at my house with our play stethoscope. Camille checks my heart and I get a lollypop. Not a bad thing right? …. So, so wrong!
I remember distinctly sitting on a stool in the middle of a room all by myself with the nurse. There I was, minding my own business, looking away from her at all the great stuff they had in their office to get into when all the sudden I felt the shot go into my finger. My head whips around to see nothing in her hands and a stapler on the counter! I start screaming “SHE STAPLED MY FINGER! SHE STAPLED MY FINGER!!!”
It wasn’t till years later when I witnessed almost the exact same course of events with my friend Jolene, that I realized the nurses kept a small finger stabber (that’s the scientific name) in their lab coat pocket for blood samples. She slipped it out and right back in again before I even knew what was coming. And that was just the prick to get a blood sample, the shots hadn’t even come yet and I’m already in full FREAK out mode! In the end it took three nurses to hold me down.
…And everyone wonders why we have such an innate fear of doctors!! BECAUSE THEY HOLD YOU DOWN AND POKE YOU TIL YOU BLEED!
…Now of course I didn’t say that to my son when we got ready to go the other day. Can you imagine that? “Jake we are going to the doctor today and they are gonna hold you down and poke you til you bleed….but it will be ok.” Ha! This is why mothers are diplomats. I did however try to be as candid as possible. I told him where we were going and what was going to happen. I told him about the shots and that they would hurt a little but it would be for just a moment and then after he could pick out any toy he wanted in walmart, within reason…
He surprisingly was great with that and marched right into the doctor's office proclaiming loudly what he was there for and what he was going to get for it! I was so proud. Then the nurses bring in the shots and he looks at the tray…..and he looks at me…..and his eyes get big and all the sudden he is his mother’s son. He still sat there bravely for the first one just leaning away a little bit but unable to take his eyes off the shots, like a bug attracted to the light. But as soon as she broke skin he was screaming bloody murder! I had Sammy in my lap (not even thinking before hand that he might be scared from seeing this) so I set him down on the chair and he curls into the fetal position with his eyes shut tight and his hands over his little ears while I go to help the nurses.
Now heaven help me but we had to have the new nurse who was just giving her first set of children’s shots on my son. Yeeeeah. Luckily she still had her trainer in there with her who was talking her through it all but when Jake started screaming, she just froze like a deer in the headlights. Plus to top it off, he had worked himself up so much that his nose started to bleed, and my son is not given to nose bleeds so this was pretty traumatic for him. It was so sad.
But being the tough love mom that I am, I take the reins on this operation. I grab some tissue for Jake to hold up to his nose and force him to lie down. I use my arms and chest to pin the lower half of his body to the table and tell the trainer to brace his arm. Then I look up at the trainee whose shaking with the next shot in hand (3 more to go) and tell her to “JUST DO IT!”
She’s still kinda frozen like she doesn’t know if that’s the best idea and I feel like slapping her across the face and shaking her by the shoulders “PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER MAN!” I wondered for a moment if I looked cruel in her eyes. That maybe she thinks I should let him take a brake and calm down. But I know my son and I’m 100% positive that if I let him go, he would have run right out of there and neither hell nor high water would have stopped him. It’s best just to get it over with. So she does. And it is all over.
I scoop Jake up and hold him til he stops crying then scoop Sammy up in the other arm and walk out of there knowing full well I’m never going to get either of them to come back there without the crippling fear all coming back to them. We drove to Walmart which gave me time to finally unwind and let it all sink in. Having to hold my son down for all of that was so hard for me but I knew it had to be done. Before we went in I pulled Jake up into the driver seat with me and just held him and cried. I felt so bad. Poor kiddo. I can only hope that he won’t remember that day as well as I remember mine. I know he will though cause he holds up the toy dragon he got and recounts the story of how he earned it to anyone that will listen.
I KNOW you all have some great doctor stories....
7 comments:
Oh boy... Yeah, I'm the tough love kind of mother too! But the problem is.. I don't think kids are afraid of doctors- Doctors aren't usually the ones that do things that hurt.. ITS THE NURSES!! We nurses get a really bad rep because we have to do what the doctor tells us to do.. and then they walk out and let us be the bad guy.
I never minded getting shots. I would calmly watch them as the nurse gave them to me... I guess I was meant to be a nurse... a sick sick nurse who loves to poke people... On the other hand though, I had to hold little Beckett down when he was just like a week old for his blood draws for his bilirubin levels.. It was so sad, and I just cried and cried and cried, but I held his little arm so tight and he screamed bloody murder... So sad...
We go to the doctors next Wednesday. Brady and Kaylee will be getting shots. Brady for Kindergarten and Kaylee because she is behind on them. (I know bad mom) So I will let you know how it goes.
You should have seen Cody and Tyler when I took them for shots for 1st and 3rd grade......They made more noise that any little kids there! I had to threaten them with death to get them to even sit on the chair!
And then there was the time I had to take you all to the public health clinic for your shots. The worst part was standing in line and hearing the distant screams become louder as we got closer. It was anguish. It was like trying to say "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" when I knew--and knew you knew he was there! I sometimes think this is hardest on mothers--we know that trust will be an issue from this point forward.
hahahaha! that cracks me up mom. i don't remember that but i do remember having to get a TB test before we moved to hawaii and the lady kept trying to get me to focus on this poster of kittens in front of me. she kept saying "just count the kittens dear." and I was like "1...ouch!....2...3....freak!...4 ....mother of all that is holly!...5..."
.... i'm probably the only person on earth now who doesn't like kittens.
I'm splitting my gut. I can't stop laughing... that is soooo funny!
That is a really funny story... someday, we may have kids and I will be doing that too I suppose :)
Brian is only home for two weeks... it is already Thursday and week one is almost over :( Not sure why time goes so fast... he has been out to sea a lot lately and it will be this way for the rest of the year most likely. Out for a month or so in for a week or two, and then back out again...
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