Doctor Visit

Yesterday was Allyson's yearly Cardiology appointment.  I had such high hopes of taking all sorts of pictures documenting the visit.  I have been wishing I had more pictures to document the many doctors appointments before and after her heart surgery.  At the time I was just trying to get through it, the last thing on my mind was taking pictures.  I didn't think I would want to remember .  Now with a bit more perspective I want Allyson to know as much about that part of her life as possible. I don't want to forget it either.

We have been talking about Dr. Bose for many weeks now, we even discussed some of the things that would happen during the visit.  I was hoping for an easy visit.  It has been quite a while since her last trip to Dr Bose (over a year I think).  

Ally woke up excited to go to the doctor (she is always up for an outing).  The drive to Fairfield was uneventful, we even arrived early!  We happily settled into the waiting room and Ally enjoyed playing with toys.  Soon it was our turn.  Allyson told me "I want to go out that door" pointing to the door leading out of the office.  As the assistant, Steve and I tried to coax her into the room to get weighed a measured she burst into tears.  

We tried to distract her with the big fountain out the window.  We tried weighing and measuring her "baby piggy" to show her it was ok.  We finally got her to stop crying while the assistant measured her.  As soon as the assistant tried to lead us to the exam room the tears returned.  I carried her into the room and tried to get her settled.  The assistant turned Toy Story on the TV while I sat with her on the exam table.  She was not having any of it, there was much crying and many tears.  It escalated when we tried to take her shirt off for the echo.  She kept saying "need my shirt on", "need my shirt".  She did stop crying a few times (especially when Dr. Bose told her she could pick a toy from the treasure chest if she was a brave girl) but that didn't last long.

The Doctor said her heart looks great, everything has healed just the way he had hoped.  There are no concerns at all, she won't have any limitations and she can play sports just like any other kid.  It is a good thing too, this girl loves her sports!

We were in and out of the appointment in less than 30 minutes, and we happily left with the good news and a happier girl.  After the treasure chest (and having her shirt back on) she was much better.  The rest of the day she kept talking about Dr. Bose, how much she liked him and how he was sad she cried.  That funny girl.

Once again I am so grateful her many appointments and her surgery are in the past.  She was so young that even when she had a stressful appointment (most were at least an hour) everything could be fixed with a bottle and her blanket.  We are so very thankful for our healthy active little girl.