The test of my mommy patience and strength was tested this past Tuesday! My daughter is going through precocious puberty (this is another thing that I am trying to learn about and deal with) at 7 years old and had to have testing done at a local hospital’s outpatient surgical center. The test was about 4 hours and she had to fast prior to the test (the beginning of a monster – a hungry kid). I can not begin to put my day into words; therefore here is the schedule of the events that took place:
5:15a.m. - Alarm goes off and our day started off 6:40a.m. - We leave the house with destination hospital in sight!
8:35a.m. - Bone density X-ray taken (this was quick and easy)
9:15a.m. - It took 4 people (me and three nurses) to hold my daughter so that she could get her IV.
10:00a.m. - She cries that she is hungry and needs to eat NOW!
10:35a.m. - She begin to cry louder that she needs to eat NOW!
This small schedule is just a glimpse of what I had to contend with on that day. Every thirty minutes, blood was taken and after 4 hours of my daughter crying and being insistent that she needed to eat; it was over! 1:3 never looked so good! I could have hugged the clock in a momentous embrace. She was able to eat finally and the monster went away and my sweet baby girl reappeared. After arriving home I needed a nap, I felt like I was a preschooler who missed their nap!
My daughter has an unhealthy fear of needles; SOMETIMES! It is a weird situation where she is deadly afraid sometimes and less fearful other times. How do I begin to break her of this fear, knowing that this will not be her final meeting with a needle? Any suggestions, please?
