Hello Mr. Doctor-Sir, we're back!

I wish I could spend as much time with The Doctor as we do at the doctor's. Although, I think my life is just as eventful as if I was running around the universe fixing alien problems. Except I don't have a real Tardis. Just a cookie jar Tardis my kids think I should actually keep cookies in- HA. 

Anyways, I'm rambling. Sophie woke up at 3 in the morning and decided she should stay awake. Of course. 

She went back to sleep at 5:30. Jolie came in at 6. Of course. 

I'm a little tired of doctor's offices. Of nurses who ask Olivia if she's ever had her blood pressure taken. Or explain every little thing they want her to do in excruciating detail when she's done it so many times before- "Stand up against the wall right here. Put your shoes against the wall. Stand up straight and keep your head straight so we can see how tall you are." In their sing-songy-children-will-love-me voices. I cringe when I see "student" on the nurse's name tag- oh please no. 

But they don't know. They have no idea. So I stay polite and focused on what needs to happen today, i.e. avoid talking about NF1. As if that's possible.

Olivia has been sick for 3+ weeks. Nasty cold-virus-thingy. She's was on the mend, but over the weekend she became pale, lethargic, and oh so crying & whining about everything, so in we went. 

Her throat is swollen and red. Her left ear has fluid building and is on it's way to an infection. Her lymph nodes are swollen. Sinuses look infected. 

The doctor asked Olivia if her ears hurt. 

"Yes, my ear hurts when I wear headphones."

He looks to me to interpret. 

"She has a plexiform neurofibroma around her left ear and when she wears headphones it makes her ear hurt. But she hasn't been complaining about her ears hurting related to being sick."

Questions. Explanations. Hoping the student nurse isn't called in to see what NF1 looks like in real life. Not this time. Good.

Hmmmm, well, it could be this, or maybe it's that. 

Strep test negative. 

Diagnoses: secondary infection as a result of the nasty cold-virus-thingy. 

Olivia is begging to go home. She fell asleep while we waited for the test results and all she wants to do is curl up on the couch and nap. Instead we go to the store for her antibiotics and while we wait we shop for sick-people food- jello, sherbet, pudding, juice, and cheetos per her request. We're discussing the highlights of the Valentine's aisle when I get a phone call. An automated message tells me her prescription is ready. Weird. 

And we go home. She falls asleep watching Astroboy. Nyah and Sophie have simultaneous meltdowns, waking her up. We eat strawberry jello. It makes everything ok. 

And everything is ok.