Trip to the new doctor

WARNING: THIS IS NOT FOR WEAK STOMACHS ! ! !

Oh boy. What an adventure! First of all, I must preface that there is a slight difference in medical care between Russia and the USA. Slight. So this mommy wasn't at all prepared with the right equipment necessary for the adventure I am about to reveal.

Secondly, if you are reading this for the first time, you may not be aware of how many times we have moved within the last two years.

With that said, we finally made it to our first appointment with our regional doctor at our regional children's clinic. It was a nice visit. We took the two younger ones as the older ones were at school. After a nice visit, we made appointments with 5 specialists (a routine thing here) and got our little slips for Friday - two per child. We had to bring in their urine samples in a jar from home and after dropping those off, stand in a line to have their blood drawn from a finger prick.

The two older ones had done that before (with Yura) and so they were not happy about the blood analysis. But we talked it through and although tears were already flowing before we left the house, they were troopers and made it to the office.

We dropped off the samples in jars and waited in line. It was crowded. About an hour later it was our turn. We decided to go from youngest to oldest. Pasha went in first with papa. Not a sound was heard and when they came out of the office, Pasha had not only NOT cried, he didn't make any noises. The other parents around were saying things to their children like, "See that baby? He is so little, and he didn't cry. What a good little boy." All I could think was, "Just wait."

Misha was next. We heard blood curling screams coming from the office as I was trying to hold the piece of cotton on Pasha's hand. He didn't like me holding his hand and wanted to see what the red stuff was oozing from his finger. Imagine the screaming going on while I am trying to keep Pasha from tasting the red stuff AND trying to hold his hand still so the blood could have a chance to slow down. He is starting to complain loudly. At this point, Kiana starts crying, and she hasn't even gotten into the office. At least she was crying quietly.

The door opens and Yura is trying to calm down and hold a hysterical 3 year old while his arms are flailing with blood splattering on the floor, on his pants, on Yura's shirt, etc. Later I found out that he already had splattered the desk, walls and the technician in the office. It wasn't as bad as Hollywood, but enough of a contrast from Pasha that parents were now silent. One boy who was sitting nearby didn't look very well.

So now I have Pasha in one arm trying to hold his finger and Misha in the other arm trying to hold his hand still. One mother showed mercy and handed me two tissues as mine were running out. Mental note #1: BRING BAND-AIDS NEXT TIME. They do not provide them here.

Kiana goes into the room with her papa and out of the corner of my eye, I see David slowly sinking into a ball in the corner. His face is sheet white and there is no color in his lips. He has a very physical reaction to unpleasant things. I made him stand up and go stand by the door to wait his turn. Misha is still crying and moving his hand trying to get the blood off - not understanding that this action is making it worse. Some of the mothers are trying to wipe up some of the blood spots that are on the concrete floor since their children are now freaked out!

Kiana comes out in tears, but still not making a noise. Yura sees the predicament I am in and sends David into the room by himself, but gets a glimpse of how he is giving blood. He is sticking out one hand and holding the other hand over his eyes. Yura grabs Pasha from me and takes Kiana and gets them to our strollers that are waiting further down the hall. I am still trying to calm Misha down when David comes out of the room looking like he is about to faint. I get him to one of the strollers to sit down. We then decide to try to get David out of the building as quickly as possible so he can sit down on the bench in the fresh air. This does all of us some good and I am sure the other parents were happy we were now out of the building.

We are out of the building, sitting on the benches with Misha and Kiana still in tears. Mental note#2: bring alcohol wipes or any kind of wipes next time. We still had to walk home - about a 20 - 30 minute walk. Mental note #3: bring some rolls or muffins next time. I forgot that we haven't eaten yet because you have to give both samples on empty stomachs. By the time we got home, Pasha was asleep in the stroller, David got his full color back, Kiana is staying home from school and Misha, well we soaked his jeans, Pasha's jeans and Yura's shirt in cold water for the rest of the day. He kept trying to wash his hand many times. Poor guy.

And no, I did not get any pics. And it is probably a good thing I didn't :O. Have a blessed day!