Innocence is Lost

Today Katie once again was at the doctor's. She had another 100 temp. When we arrived at the doctor he took one listen to her lungs and she needed to be back on Albuterol, she was weezing. My heart sank and thanked God for the fever that was unrelated and thought to myself..."back to the drawing board." As discouraging as it was to hear that she was once again having asthmatic symptoms I also had such hope and happiness in my heart that God has made Katie a fighter. She had to not only give a urine sample, which she found to be quite cool that her 'pee pee' was in a jar, but she had to get blood work done. When the doctor told me he wanted blood work done to see why she still had a fever, a sweat started to overcome me. I thought, "oh my gosh, here goes her ignorance of going to the doctor." I never realized how much I couldn't stand my children getting 'poked' until now. I begged the doctor to give me a recommendation of a lab that dealt well with children and he really didn't have one. Once we walked into the lab she knew something was wrong. She immediately clung to me and I sat her on my lap. As I anticipated the worst such as a kicking screaming child Katie sat there stoically and cried softly as they poked her. Unfortunately they missed a vein and had to poke her again. By the second poke she cried a little louder but did not fight. While they were changing vials she quieted and watched, she actually found it a little interesting that that was her blood. After they were done she said firmly she wanted a sticker and a sucker and her request was fulfilled. Of course mother like, I did everything I could think of to sooth her, cuddle her, bribe her, tell her she could have lunch out and a treat at home for being a brave girl but none of it phased her, she was fine. I asked her what she thought of the ordeal and she said, "it was bad very bad. I didn't like my blood mommy, but I was brave." It amazed me that Mark and I were the ones standing there fretting about her first blood work but she was not ignorant I think we were. We have a fighter and a strong little girl that has been through so much medically in her three years. We count our blessings everyday that she is as healthy as she is and I love every moment when God uses our children to show us just how strong He can make them and how we can learn from them.