drama

This morning I brought Anna in to the doctor, as she has had a lingering runny nose / cold for the past week and a half. Over the weekend she developed a cough and has been having trouble sleeping at night and during the day. So...to the doctor we went.

Anna typically loves the doctor. She loves the fish tanks, talking to the nurses, getting weighed and all that comes along with it. She was especially happy today because I had told her that there would be no shots.

Apparently I had no idea that what was in store could possibly be worse.

Each time Anna's ears are checked the doctor must remove ear wax in order to see her ear drum clearly. This is neither an easy or a comfortable process. I thought I was prepared for it, as we have done it on a number of occasions. This time, however, was different. With 3 of us holding her down for what felt like 5 minutes, the doctor was finally able to see her ear drum(s) - which yes, were inflamed. In the process, her ear canal was scraped to the point of bleeding down her face. Can't imagine that felt good on top of an ear infection.

Anna was so traumatized that she was screaming uncontrollably, shaking and so worn out from the effort that her eyes were rolling back into her head (looking like she was going to pass out). It took almost 30 minutes to calm her down and longer for my heart rate to slow down. Hearing those screams and seeing a look of sheer FEAR that I have never seen on her before was by far the most awful thing yet. I'll take shots any day...next ear infection we are going to need a grandma or grandpa to take over I think.

The good news is...we have medicine, and little Anna will be feeling better again soon.