So yesterday was a Monday. A very very Monday. It started off as it always does, getting LB off to school. LN doesn’t have school on Mondays, so he was home, along with LK and LE. LN had a dental appointment, which is usually a big challenge for him.
LN has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), along with his ADHD and impulse challenges. As a result of this, he gets very defensive about his mouth. In the past, the only way to fill his cavities was to have him completely sedated in a hospital setting so the dentist to cap his teeth. He does not allow x-rays to be taken, and fights when the dentist cleans his teeth or counts them. He’s good about brushing his teeth as long as he’s in control, but that isn’t always the case at the dentist. Yesterday, he did amazing. He admitted to me that he was a little scared, but allowed them to take x-rays (miracle of miracles!) and clean his teeth. When it came time to count his teeth, he cooperated very well, with minimal fighting. It was incredible. I was so proud of my boy, and he was so proud of himself! Great news: No cavities. Plus he got three prizes for being a rock star for the dentist.
As the day went on, and LB came home from school, she complained of her chest hurting and her head hurting. I gave her a nebulizer treatment and some Tylenol, and she seemed ok for a while. Meanwhile, I received a text message from my neighbor. Their tortoise had escaped and they were hoping we could help find him. We live in front of a huge field. There are lots of places for a tortoise to hide. When I was a kid, we had a desert tortoise who often escaped and hid so I knew not to underestimate the determination of a “slow” tortoise. After searching for several hours, I found him crammed under a bush in the field, maybe 200 feet from the major road he seemed to be headed to. Success! This is no small tortoise either. He’s about 65 lbs, with a shell height of almost a foot. But he’s home safe and sound!
After dinner, LB continued to complain of chest pain. After discussing it with my husband, I packed her and LE up and headed to our local children’s urgent care. The doctor who saw LB had also seen LE about a month ago for an upper respiratory infection. Doc walked in and saw us and goes, “Oh no! Is it back?” “Ha, no ma’am. This time I’m here with a different kid.” She looked both pained and relieved. Guess we’re the frequent fliers at the urgent care, now. Thankfully, LB’s oxygen looked good. Her asthma is causing her issues, so she was given a dose of steroids (with a popsicle chaser) and we’ve tweaked her asthma care plan to be a little more intense. Lots of breathing treatments, and hopefully we can get on top of this. As we were leaving, a nurse stopped me and says, “I have to ask. What’s with the 20 oz Red Bull at 8:45 at night?” “Ma’am, I’ve got 4 kids aged 8 and under, I’m at Urgent Care, and it’s Monday.” She laughed and said she understood.
But we made it! Today is Tuesday, I’ve got hope it’ll be better than Monday!