Coulda woulda shoulda....maybe kinda possibly

Yesterday morning I received a telephone call that caused me to spring out of bed like a firefighter on call at 2 a.m. Kelly's oral surgeon called to tell me since she had a heart murmur she would need to take 4 antibiotics 1 hour prior to her appointment next week. My reaction..."huh, what heart murmur?"

Then I began to recall that maybe, kinda, possibly I remember something about a possible one when she was 4. I took her to the pediatrician for a physical prior to her first year of cheerleading. He heard something but when we went back for a follow-up, nothing! He signed off on her forms and away we went into the wild world of sassy 4 and 5 year old girls.


Kelly when this all started

I've taken Kelly for a physical every year of her life. I'm that kind of mom. If there is a vaccination my kid needs, I'm all for it! Never mind the fact that they are screaming in a corner out of fear, hey, they'll get over it quicker than I will if I have to deal with a case of whooping cough or some other freaky preventable disease. Bring on the extra staff, let's hold 'em down and get this over with. Not that Kelly ever needed to be held down once she was about 5 or 6. She discovered at that age she liked needles. Dear God, it was a sign of things to come. Instead of being scared of this development, I praised her for being such a strong girl. Now look at the little pierced freak! I want to hold her down and prevent anyone from getting near her with another needle.


Kelly and her step-sister with one of their many piercings

Kelly has been approved for multiple years of cheerleading, soccer, basketball, dancing, hockey, and the ever physical sport of attitude throwing. What's that you say..attitude throwing does not need a doctor's approval? Hmmm...well when the kid rolls her eyes like a bowler with a 200 game and throws an attitude like the pitcher in the Olympic Women's Fast Pitch Softball finals, it sure seems like it should require some sort of physician's approval for such rigorous activity. Of course, I've yet to find the doctor who will provide me with an excuse to prevent her from participating in attitude throwing. Sure they'll give me one to keep her out of school or out of work, but none for that. If anyone finds one, please forward the contact information, I'll be sure to schedule an appointment ASAP.

So now I sit her pondering whether I should allow her to recuperate at Grandma's. Not that Grandma's is an unsafe place. It's just that there is minimal supervision there as Grandma is in out of the house all day for work. What if something goes wrong and noone is there to notice it? I know that a dental procedure on someone with a heart condition can be dangerous or even fatal. I worked for the American Heart Association and had to provide many brochures to patients and dental providers in my 6 years off and on there. Infective endocarditis is a serious thing. I'm not done being tormented by this young lady.

I guess time and the doctor's recommendations will tell what I decide to do. In the meantime, I'm going to keep looking for that doctor who will give me the "no attitude" pass and hope all Kelly's man-made holes close up while she's recuperating. She assures me they won't, but a mother can dream can't she?

Oh, and she gets "a" sip of water to take all 4 pills. I don't know how Kelly will get them down, but I wanted to tell the nurse "good luck with that!"