Liams First NY Appointment
What did I get myself into...Wow! That is all I can think to say after today. Liam and I went into the city for his first doctors appointment (not with his specialist, that is next week, with the ENT). There were several highs and lows today. The train ride there was great, empty train, handicap seating for us and Liam was an angel (in fact he was an angel the whole time). It was a beautiful day and we were optimistic with our trip ahead of us
It was the perfect opportunity to wear one of the headbands I got to keep my ears warm, I LOVE them, they are cute and cozy. If you want your own look her up on etsy HERE!
Got to Harlem and asked where the subway was, walked about 15 min starting to get worried since I only gave myself 30 minutes for a late gap. I found the subway and went down, looked at the map and realized I was at the wrong line, looked on the map again and realized I had walked the opposite direction. I had to walk 45 min back to the right line (which I got there at the time of the appt after jogging most of the way down the sidewalks...in Harlem). I wish I could have taken a picture of what we walked through/by, what interesting people. I felt like we were walking through a movie, I have never walked down streets like this in New York.
Once I finally got to the right subway stop I got on the elevator to go down to the subway, I thought I was going to burst into tears, I felt so emotionally spent and stressed. But as the doors shut all the women around me started cracking jokes about weighing too much after thanksgiving weekend. I couldn't help but laugh instead of cry at the things they were saying, talk about several tender mercies in one stroke! I say several because it made me so grateful for my mission, I know I am ever being blessed for that service and I know for a certainty I was sent to the right place. I say all of this because these women were only speaking Spanish, I would never have been able to talk with the women or appreciate such a joke in such a high stress moment had it not been for my mission.
No seats on the subway for me but I still felt happy from conversing with some kind women, and once I got to my stop I had to carry Liam stroller above ground. Went into 3 different hospitals looking for the right one, silly me, I thought there would be one big children's hospital, instead there were like 10! Got lost running all around for another 20 minutes until I broke down and started to cry (40 min late for the appt). Finally got there out of breath, sweaty, in tears and with Liam acting fussy for being in the stroller for so long! I had to fill out a ton of paperwork, which I did while Liam played, and then finally went back to meet the doctor.
Once I finally got to the right subway stop I got on the elevator to go down to the subway, I thought I was going to burst into tears, I felt so emotionally spent and stressed. But as the doors shut all the women around me started cracking jokes about weighing too much after thanksgiving weekend. I couldn't help but laugh instead of cry at the things they were saying, talk about several tender mercies in one stroke! I say several because it made me so grateful for my mission, I know I am ever being blessed for that service and I know for a certainty I was sent to the right place. I say all of this because these women were only speaking Spanish, I would never have been able to talk with the women or appreciate such a joke in such a high stress moment had it not been for my mission.
No seats on the subway for me but I still felt happy from conversing with some kind women, and once I got to my stop I had to carry Liam stroller above ground. Went into 3 different hospitals looking for the right one, silly me, I thought there would be one big children's hospital, instead there were like 10! Got lost running all around for another 20 minutes until I broke down and started to cry (40 min late for the appt). Finally got there out of breath, sweaty, in tears and with Liam acting fussy for being in the stroller for so long! I had to fill out a ton of paperwork, which I did while Liam played, and then finally went back to meet the doctor.
He is so nice and perfect for Liam, he was so gentle and sweet to both of us, I knew we were in good hands. I can only hope Liam's cardiologist and I click as well. But he doesn't even touch Liam and after 10 minutes of explaining why he says he wants to just do the surgery (they will do an endoscopy to check his throat, tonsils and adenoids for an obstruction, if they find one they will remove what needs to be removed right then to minimize risk of removing everything) he was done...the appointment was over!
We left, feeling better that the first trip there was over with (bound to be the worse right?!) but also bummed they could have done/scheduled all of this with me over the phone since he didn't even touch Liam and save the $45 copay that doesn't go towards a deductible.
We then had to get back home. But what I thought would be another horrible trip I met the nicest woman on the subway, she even waited with me for the elevator and made sure u didn't get lost.
We left, feeling better that the first trip there was over with (bound to be the worse right?!) but also bummed they could have done/scheduled all of this with me over the phone since he didn't even touch Liam and save the $45 copay that doesn't go towards a deductible.
We then had to get back home. But what I thought would be another horrible trip I met the nicest woman on the subway, she even waited with me for the elevator and made sure u didn't get lost.
Reflecting on the kind people I met today made the 30 min walk to train seem shorter. I got there 10 minutes before the train just in time to buy a bottle of vitamin water and granola bar (breakfast lunch and late snack for me!). Got onto a full train so I had to stand the whole 47 minutes, but luckily Liam was able to sleep the whole time. Got off, had to carry Liam stroller up 2 flights of stairs and back down then walk the 15 min up to Karlee's house to pick up Abigail.
All in all, I feel exhausted. So to sum up the day I would say, it was exhausting. But the good outweighed the bad, I guess I am just worried after today, questioning whether this really was right decision for our family. It's uncomfortable and different, but will it be worth it? I sure hope so.
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