Pediatrics

Here was my day yesterday:

1: Dad comes in at 5:40 pm for his 5:15 emergency add-on visit with his son:

"Your son has asthma. He's going to need to start using this albuterol pump to get his asthma under control."

"Albuterol? Are you sure? My wife isn't going to like this. She's not really okay with our kids taking medication."

WTF?!  "Yes I'm sure, he's wheezing in every lobe of his lungs, everytime he coughs he can't catch his breath and his oxygen saturation is low. He's not getting enough oxygen into his lungs."

"And that's serious?"

"Yes, not being able to breathe is serious."

"Well, I guess we can we'll try that medication. At least for a little bit."


2. Mom and 1 year-old baby are here for a well-baby visit. Mom pulls out a sheet of questions. Oh goodie.

"Is it okay for my baby to play with toys?

"Is it okay that he poops four times a day?"

"He gets three meals a day. Am I feeding him too much?"

"He's starting to walk. Should I be letting him do that?"


3. Mom to her 4 year-old girl here for booster vaccines:

Mom "You're going to get lots of shots today! Are you scared? You should be scared. It's going to hurt. A lot."

Kid: ear-piercing screams

4. Mom to 6 year-old who won't stop playing with the scale out in the hallway:

"If you don't start behaving right now, I swear I will leave you here with the doctor. How would you like that?"

Me (internally): I'm guessing your kid wouldn't mind that as much as you might think...

Is pediatrics over yet? The kids are cute, but the parents are going to be the death of me.