Seth has been complaining of stuffy nose, sore throat and popping ears. By this morning it was clear he was not feeling well so we went to the local Rediclinic in our HEB. A friend of mine is a P.A. there and, in my opinion, she is the next best thing since sliced bread. 😉
Once she checked everything over she gave him the news, “Seth,” she said, “You have a bad cold.”
🙂
That made him laugh…I love his laugh… and I could see he was relieved. She told me a few over the counter remedies to get for the congestion and sore throat. Earlier as she was checking Seth’s throat she noticed his thyroid seemed swollen and made the suggestion that I might want to take Seth to his primary care physician and get it looked at.
I thanked her for being discreet, as we both know how Seth can be a bit of a worrier, and we went on about our shopping. Once home I made a call to his pediatrician and they got him in for an appointment tomorrow morning. At this point I had to tell Seth he was going to the doctor.
“What’s a thyroid? Am I going to die? Do I need a shot?” He fired the questions in that order.
After explaining how simple dealing with the thyroid can be, how it might not be swollen at all, I decided to be honest instead of springing it on him . “IF the doctor feels anything out of the ordinary to determine if there is anything going on they might need to take blood.”
Eyes wide, his hand clasped his chest and he fell back into the couch as if I’d shot him. “No!” he cried out in dramatic proportion. “I hate needles.”
Neal, still bothering me working from home, took full advantage of this opportunity to be himself and make the situation that much more intolerable. “It’s a big needle too! They stick it right in the middle of your arm and then you have to pump this ball so the blood will come out…”
Seth turned from going on 21, to 12, to 5 years old in a matter of seconds and ran to me throwing his arms around my waist to save him from the boogie man. I took full advantage of this and held onto him for dear life assuring him it was not that big of a deal.
A little while later Seth came into my office and said, “Will I have to get a shot? Will I have to have blood taken? Will it hurt?”
In the middle of something I stopped what I was doing and looked at him. “Seth,” I said. “Stop worrying. You’ll be fine.”
“Will you pray with me?” he asked.
W O W … don’t get me wrong, Neal and I do the best we can to make sure this is a praying household but it is always one of us telling the kids it’s ‘time to pray’. The fact that Seth’s worry and concern sent him into prayer, and wanting my intercession to boot, was amazing. A gift. 🙂
He sat down in a chair next to me and I took his hands in mine and prayed for him to have good health and to feel peace with God’s will in his life. When we were done I could see the tension ease a bit from his shoulders.
I, too, was comforted in the knowledge that regardless of the mistake(s) I’ve made Seth still needed me, his mom. Seth has been front row to understanding I’m not perfect and that along the way I will make my own parenting mistakes but what we always come back to is our foundation of faith.
Walk in truth, say your prayers and he will make straight your path.
Blessings
Shannon