This picture was taken at roughly the 75th appointment we went to in 2018. Yes, you read that correctly 75 appointments for one person and to be honest that number should have been higher but illness, vacations and sometimes a cancellation because a kid just needs to be a kid.
Parents of neuro-typical kids are probably reading this and wondering how is this even possible, while parents of medically complex kids are nodding their heads and going to check calendars to count the number of appointments they took their child to.
These appointments entail all the standards: the pediatrician, the dentist, the eye doctor, and the ENT but then there is the Neurologist, the Orthopedic doctor, the physical therapist, the occupational therapist, the hippo-therapy lessons, the blood draws, the anesthesia evaluations and quite possibly one or two I forgot. It does not include the surgery that came as a result of many of those appointments.
Yes, this picture was taken at roughly the 75th appointment in 2018, and yes at this appointment we were told there would be four other appointments…big ones. Yes, there is a smiling kid and a Dad who spent several hours of his birthday talking about his daughters medical history. What you don’t see is a Mom who though she is drained from the driving, the appointment scheduling, the medical jargon and the after visit summaries is beyond grateful to have a team of people who have cared for and supported her child.
Rea of Hope 