I kind of lost it and bawled over the phone to a total stranger today. Oops. (On the bright side, she was really nice and stayed on the phone making sympathetic noises until I calmed down and could use my words.)
I’ve been dreading this week. We had a followup appointment with the orthopedic surgeon today (pins came out, which went really well except Levi was terrified about the process of “windowing” the cast; turns out he thought they were going to cut a window in his skin, which means I must not have explained things very well). One more week in the cast.
Tomorrow, I take both boys to their annual checkups, which will include a flu mist for Elias and a shot for Levi. This seemed like efficient use of my time (One trip! No babysitters!) back when I planned it, but at this moment I’m wondering if I was out of my mind. They are nuts, and containing them both in small spaces and requiring relative quiet is always an adventure. I will be packing a lot of snacks. I know bribing them with food is a terrible idea for their long-term health and well-being (STRIKE ONE), but honestly my goal is just to get through the appointment without breaking out a flask.
Then Wednesday Levi has a followup at the CF center, and they’ll do a throat swab to see if he really and truly got rid of whatever nasty stuff he’s been growing. We won’t know for a week or so after. So many appointments in a row (especially when there’s a fair amount of driving involved) is hard on everybody. So I’ve been dreading this week.
I prepared for the busyness by sleeping fitfully last night, which was exactly what I needed, right? And I was working this morning, going as fast as I could to get anything urgent done before I had to leave, and I got a phone call from the specialty pharmacy (that we have to use for a lot of the CF drugs because insurance companies think our lives aren’t complicated enough) that Levi’s secondary coverage is saying that he’s no longer covered, and they can’t send the medicine until the problem is cleared up. Which is bad, because he’s completely out of that med (STRIKE TWO). Levi’s secondary coverage is with the state, so a bunch of red tape ensued until I ended up on the phone with someone who said I didn’t fill out one form 1462 (I think; who can remember?), so he no longer had coverage.
I would swear in court that I have completed and returned every form they have ever sent me. But apparently a form is missing, and so Levi will not get his medicine because I am a horrible mother and I can’t get anything right I didn’t send in some form. And I said, “I have filled out everything. Twice. And my son is out of his medicine and <insert all my other issues that aren’t their problem> and I have to pick him up at preschool in ten minutes and I can’t believe I have to have this conversation about some stupid form!” And then I burst into tears, and Elias piped up, “Mama! Don’t say stupid!”
Really? NOW you remember that?
So the lady on the phone passed a note to her deskmate that she had a crazy person on the line, and told me to take some nice deep breaths. Which is something I have to remind myself to do so often that this is my phone wallpaper:
She was really, really nice to me, and went out of her way to help. Paul had to drive over on his lunch hour to sign a paper, but whatever other black magic she performed resulted in a phone call at 4:50 today that they have all the paperwork they need and Levi’s coverage is reinstated retroactively. And the specialty pharmacy is sending an emergency five-day supply until they can get everything rolling again.
So I picked Levi up from preschool and dropped off Elias at a friend’s house, which he deeply resented until he remembered that it involved four doting female attendants and Barley, the best dog in the world.
And then I fed Levi chicken nuggets in his booster seat (STRIKE THREE. Please do not call children’s services; I love them really I do.) on the way to the doctor’s office. The rest of the afternoon was uneventful, as these things go.
And in the relative peace, I had time to diagnose myself with a case of Too Many Things. An episode usually involves at least one bout of weeping, a tragically ignored kitchen, and an optional rant about the children’s behavior before resolving.
Here’s hoping today’s stuff out of the way will bring the Things Level down into the acceptable zone. But if not, at least it’ll be entertainment for all of you, right?