just a {little} rant

it has been a long day. yesterday, lucy woke up from her nap and her eyes were pretty much glued shut. one of her eyes had been a little goopy for a day or so but not really enough to worry about (i figured it had something to do with this incident). anyway, we decided that we needed to call the 24 hour nurse line. i called, listened to 3 language options, pressed 2, then 2 again, listened to some awful music (a cross between mariachi and elevator music), was told "the next available nurse will connect asap" 4 times, talked to a non-nurse receptionist, gave lucy's info, described her simptoms, put on hold again, told "the next available nurse will connect asap" 4 more times, finally talked to a very nice nurse who told me it was probably conjunctivitis. she said to call the doctor in the morning and that they would either get me an immediate appointment or possibly even give me a prescription over the phone(!).

so bright and early this morning i called the office, listened to 3 language options, pressed 3, waited, talked to a receptionist who said i should have called the pharmacy (okay....), hung up, dialed again, listened to 3 language options, pressed 6, got disconnected, repeated, waited, talked to a stern pharmasist who told me i couldn't just call and get a prescription (oh really?), got transferred back to another receptionist who (in a brisk, disgusted and condescending tone) said, "well, you need to bring her in!" and disconnected me (thanks.).

i had hoped to avoid an actual trip to the doctor. this would be the office where we've never waited less than 2 hours to get into a room and another hour (usually much more) to actually see a doctor. i've been meaning to switch to a new pcp since our move back in august but procrastination and i go waaaaaay back. anyway, it was unavoidable. grant had already left for school and i was beginning to panic. i would have tried to drop hazel off somewhere but one of her eyes was showing goopy signs and i didn't think anyone would want to risk their kids catching pink eye. so as i got the three of us dressed, i thought frantic prayers and tried to come up with a plan. i saw the sroller leaning behind the couch and started weighing the pros and cons of taking a double stroller to a perpetually crowded office. the only pro i could think of was being able to strap lucy down. that's a big one, outweighing the many cons. so i lugged the stroller to the car, packed many snacks and treats, toys, and books. i made it to the office (a 30-minute drive) by 9:45, barely snagged a parking spot, walked into the first waiting area and wanted to cry. it was crammed full.

i spent 10 minutes trying to figure out where to sign in. waited another 10 minutes for lucy's name to be called, got the paperwork done and turned in, and after a couple tries, found where i was supposed to wait. 30 minutes later, shocked and amazed, i was taking lucy back to be checked out by a nurse. unfortunately, once she finished, it was back to the waiting room for us. by this point, the girls had finished most of their snacks and become disenchanted with the books and toys. lucy was straining at the straps, trying to wiggle free. i pulled out the big guns: my ipod. they l.o.v.e it. before and after i go to the gym for my run, they usually insist on listening to my music and having a drink from my water bottle. it entertained them for about 10 seconds. sigh. 

suddenly the nurse appeared, needing to weight and measure lucy. she's 24 lbs 7 oz and 34 inches tall. then it was more waiting.....................10 minutes.......................20 minutes, "mommy, i have to pee!"..................................30 minutes...........................40 minutes, judge whoever on tv chastised a woman sueing the mother of her grandson.................................50 minutes..................and finally, we were called back again, this time to see the doctor. lucy has bacterial conjunctivitis in both eyes as well as an ear infection. the ear infection surprised me, she hasn't been pulling her ear or more fussy than usual. anyway, we waited for the doc to write up a prescription and headed for the pharmacy down the corridor. after 10 minutes of trying to figure out how that system works, i got in the first line, recieved my number, waited another 30 minutes for my number to be called, walked up to the window, handed in my papers, and was told to sit and wait for my name to be called.............5 minutes, hazel pushes lucy's face into a bar on the stroller...............10 minutes, lucy slaps hazel's leg.......................15 minutes, "mommy, i'm soooooo hungwy!".....................20 minutes.................it's ready.....kind of, "here are the eye drops and i'm sorry but we're out of amoxicillin (#*@^$!). it's very important that she gets it today, so take your prescription to walgreens or cvs."

1:00 pm and we're in the car driving west on 610. lucy falls asleep. hazel falls asleep. traffic comes to a standstill 1 1/4 miles from my exit. surprisingly, it's not rodeo related. 15 minutes later we exit the freeway. i dropped off the prescription, picked up my first meal of the day and arrived home.

no, the kids have not taken a real nap. yes, i'm in an awful mood. lucy has had her first eye drops administered and once grant gets home, i'll pick up her amoxicillin. i hope she's not allergic to it like grant. that would really complete my day.

thanks for reading. i [almost] feel a little better.