Those of you who spoke with me yesterday are expecting a crazy, unhinged, expletive-filled post about how frustrated I am with our experience seeking healthcare in New Mexico. And had I written any time up until now, that's exactly what you would have gotten.
But it's a new day. And I'm tired. Too tired to come up with a derisive rant. First let me say, I absolutely understand that whatever is afflicting Asher is mild, it's treatable, it will be over and done with soon enough and I am so grateful that what we are battling isn't something worse. But that being said, we are now on 6 weeks of 'something'. And six weeks is a LONG time to watch your baby be uncomfortable.
This morning we went back to our pediatrician, for what I believe was the 7th visit since Halloween. She was very honest about not knowing what is going on with Ash, and not even really knowing what to do next. She listed the possible reasons for his symptoms, and between her, Ben, and I, we came up with a plan.
The first step of the plan was a blood test. I know all I've done is complain about the healthcare system here, but this morning, for the first time in 6 months, I was blown away by the quality of care we received. When Asher wakes up from his nap we will be returning to the lab to deliver a hand-written thank you note. My first instinct was to give them a hundred dollar gift card, but I have a feeling that even though Ben will love hearing about the heartwarming experience we had, he would frown upon such a generous expression of 'thanks'. A hand-written note (possibly with a $5 starbucks gift card...) will do.
We decided on the labs as a first step because it will let us rule out a lot of things: an infection, allergies in general, and then specifically, allergies to dogs, milk, black mold from our time in Iowa City, and a common environmental mold native to Albuquerque. If we strike out with the labs, the next step is to treat for the following: allergies, reflux, sinus infection, and asthma.
Brave baby.
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