Last evening I saw a nearly six year old who had a sore throat. I watched her carefully as she looked at one of the books in the exam room. She was not looking at the pictures but actually reading it. Then the mother pointed to the fourth Harry Potter book which the child was reading now that she finished books one, two, and three. I gave her books from our office to take home as this is company policy and we are subscribers of Reach Out and Read..
All our lives have been busy and not very relaxing. JSN just called from a Manhattan location where her fashion show is about to launch as part of fashion week. She helped to produce another show which occurred last night. She is missing the funeral of JB's grandfather because she can't be in two places at once.
Miss NB is doing a presentation to a group of geneticists from somewhere else (can't remember) and she worked hard on her PowerPoint slides. Next week we will be going to Washington DC for the first of her many scheduled medical school interviews. I am coming along as company and will sightsee during the time that she is at GW.
C and JM are very busy. JM is lining up interviews for her residency. Everyone will be coming home for the holidays though NB and I will just be arriving from Washington. JB's movies are coming along, with so much work done on his part, and we are thrilled with the subject matter (to be revealed at a later date).
Dad is always in over his head and who can keep track of all the things he has to take care of. I have been busy at work and trying to recover from being on the warpath. The balance at work has been out of kilter and no one wants to give up the shticks they've developed over time in order to put things right. Several pediatricians and nurses have jumped on a bandwagon of being frightened by fevers. What?? Fevers are the mainstay of pediatrics and there is no way that all the febrile children and young adults can be seen by a select few whose health status is deemed unimportant. In the meanwhile, judgments are impaired and someone always pays the price.
Last evening I worked with my old literary friend Dr. M and we got more than we bargained for in patients. A very young infant was brought to the hospital two days before and faulty diagnostic judgment was used in sending her home. She has a very young Spanish speaking mother who did not realize that the baby's sleeping the whole day without eating or voiding was an indication of deterioration in status. By the time the baby was brought to pediatric urgent care, after supposedly being triaged by the daytime staff, the baby was limp, dehydrated, febrile and tachypneic. One of our new medical assistants was surprised at how quickly I moved to stabilize the baby and get her out the door via ambulance. The medical assistant looked at me with wide eyes and nodded. Dr. M came from another exam room to help me out. We laughed wryly at how it is never dull.
When I got home last evening, Dad informed me that the painters were ready to begin painting the house. Today was the day when the surfaces would be washed and sanded. Pablo and Jack have spent the day hysterically barking at anyone who comes close to a window. The barking actually irks me more than just about anything.
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