Appointments, Appointments, Appointments
One of the many things that is often misunderstood in a medical mom’s life is the amount of appointments that are needed. I could show you my calendar with the number of appointments written down between the four of us in my family, but it still wouldn’t show it all. What I can’t write on my calendar are the phone calls, orders, emails and rescheduling of appointments which all take up a lot of time and are never planned ahead of time. I spend most of my day on my phone dealing with things and trying to coordinate as many appointments as I can so we can see everyone we need to with one trip to Kelowna or Vancouver. It requires a lot of strategy most days.
It’s easy to say or try to explain to someone how much this can often be but not many people truly and fully understand the extent of it. It can take close to three hours for me to get my hair dyed and cut at the salon. While I sit and let the dye do its thing, I’m answering emails and phone calls because I often can’t make it through an appointment without hearing from someone on Mason or Dylan’s team. Here is a break down of my last two days:
The day started as normal getting both kids up, disconnect Dylan from dialysis, get Mason fed and ready for daycare, and prepare for the day. We had appointments early in the morning so I packed everything I needed to do Dylan’s morning feed on the go. Brian went to work and I took Mason to daycare and then headed to the hospital for bloodwork. I needed bloodwork done too so we went to the outpatient lab and waited our turn for me to be collected. I set up and started Dylan’s feed while we were visiting with the other patients waiting. Dylan has a port so this requires him to go through registration at the hospital and then go to the Women’s and Children’s ward. We headed up to the ward and had some freezing cream put on and chatted with the nurse while the cream is setting in. While waiting, I could hear my phone dinging away in my diaper bag. I ignored it for the time being, and when we were ready I held Dylan and the nurse collected his blood through his port. We were ready to go and I headed out to the car. Once in the car, I checked my phone to see what emails needed an urgent response to or if they could wait until we were home. I headed home and put Dylan down for a nap, cleaned his feeding supplies I had brought with me, and sat down at the computer to start replying to emails from Dylan’s renal team as well as Mason’s daycare. Shortly after when Dylan woke up from his nap, we had a zoom appointment with his GI team at Children’s Hospital. I set up and started Dylan’s feed during this appointment. Once this appointment was over, more emails…. Dylan’s lab work was back so I was hearing from the team what changes were being made for medications and such. I also had to check all our dialysis inventory and place an order as our order was due for the next months supply. Then it was time to pick Mason up from daycare, Brian came home from work and we spent a few hours playing, having dinner and then bed!
The next day, it was Mason’s turn for appointments. Brian stayed home with Dylan as Mason’s appointments were in Kelowna and he had some grading and lesson planning to do. Once everyone was up and ready, Mason and I headed to Kelowna. He had two appointments with an hour in between so we went and walked around a few stores nearby to burn off some time. While walking around, I answered a few phone calls about scheduling and rescheduling appointments. In the next appointment, I again, had to ignore my phone dinging away in the diaper bag. Once this appointment was done and we were back in the car, I checked my phone. I texted one of my contacts that I missed the call from and told her I would be home in an hour if she could call back after that. I answered a few emails about scheduling a call with Dylan’s dieticians, and a home visit with another person on the team. Once home, we had lunch and Mason went down for a nap. I received my call back from my contact as well as another call from another team member. A few more emails sent, plus some running around town to pick up medication and something for dinner, and I called it quits for the evening!
I wish I could say most of my days aren’t like this, but this is how most end up going. Whether it be appointments for myself or for the boys it’s usually a jam packed day. For anyone reading this who has a family member that is a medical mom, always be kind if they seem attached to their phone! It is our lifeline for our child’s care and they are in contact with us more than you know. Also, always offer a medical mom coffee… I promise you, she needs it!
