That is Not All, No, no, That is Not All!

Last Wednesday, Emily had what we adult women would call an invasive procedure done. We drove to the hospital, to children’s Radiology department so the staff could perform a VCUG (Voiding Cystourethrogram). This url, www.pedsimaging.com/Webpages/VCUG.htm says that it is:

This is a test which evaluates your child's bladder and urethra (the tube which carries urine out of the bladder). It is often done to help determine if there is reversed flow of urine from the bladder into the drainage system of the kidneys. This condition (vesico-ureteral reflux) can be silent until your child has a urinary tract infection with high fever. It is important to know, since this can lead to damage or scarring of the kidneys.

Another site says that both parents and children uniformly dislike this test. I was worried, but Em came through well. The radiologist said “she was a real trooper.” I thought we’d be able to treat Emily to something special, like going to Mother’s Beach (a sandy beach in the bay with few, if any waves and a life guard every 50 feet or so).

However, Poppy took precedence once more. We got out of the hospital early, and long story short, I had arranged for his residence driver to take him to the dentist. He does not like the way this driver drives. Emily’s test took priority for me, so it was the only way to get him there. So, when we got done early, I took pity on him and picked him up from the dentist. He wanted lunch (he had lost part of a tooth, and had to have the rest of it extracted.) So, I asked him if we could eat it at home, but no, he wanted to eat it at the restaurant. Two and one-half hours later, he finished his soup. It took him that long to eat his soup and two tortillas. It was not because of his tooth, oh, no. He just enjoyed taking his time to eat.

I had told him about Em’s morning; told him that I wanted to do something special for her, and for Sarah for being so good to Emily all morning, and at one hour, 45 minutes I asked him if we could go. He said yes, and took several more bites as if he was moving nowhere. I took the girls next door to the bird store so they could play with the baby birds and look at the pretty, exotic grown up birds. We went back to the restaurant after about ½ hour, and Poppy was finally nearly finished with his soup. I could have screamed!

By this time it was 2:30, and too late to go to Mother’s Beach or any other beach for that matter, and I was angry that once again, I let Poppy take priority over my children. I could still scream! Then he wanted more. I finally said “NO.” I took him home, went to my home with my children, and tried to figure out something fun to do at home. It didn’t work so very well, but at least I tried.

There is even more, but I have to go for now.