Nathan's 6 Year Check-up and Flu Vaccine CATASTROPHE

Two weeks ago, Nathan went to the doctor for his 6 yr check up. He should have had his check up in August when he turned 6, but Mommy forgot to schedule it...oops! It actually worked out well that this appointment was in October because I arranged for Nathan and Charlotte to have their flu vaccines at the same time...more on that story later. Nathan passed his check up with flying colors. He was so happy and cute with the nurses and doctor and was very talkative. I was so proud of his sweet little personality. He had his vision and hearing checked, weight and height, and everything was great. Nathan weighs 54.4 lbs which is in the 80th percentile. He is 45.6 inches tall which is in the 50th percentile. And has 20/30 vision and perfect hearing.

After the doctor gave Nathan an A+ she joked with him and asked if he was ready for a shot. She assumed he wanted the flu mist, not the shot. Nathan said, "Yes, I'm ready!" And she said, "I was just kidding silly, you are old enough to have the mist now." What she didn't know was that I had already had this conversation with Nathan a few days earlier. He said he absolutely did not want the mist. He hates anything in his nose and said he would rather have the shot. At first I tried to talk him out of it. The mist is so much easier and what kid wants a needle stuck in them? Most kids scream over a shot. Not Nathan. We talked about it for several days and every time I asked him if he was sure he wanted the shot, he said yes. So I told him that was fine, he could have the shot and Charlotte could do the mist. I just assumed we had a choice. So when the doctor told Nathan he was going to get the mist, I told her that he actually wanted the shot. As our luck would have it, they ONLY had the mist available to healthy children. Because the mist is the live virus, there are certain kids who CAN'T have it, so they save the dead virus (shot) for those kids. BUMMER! She did tell us we could wait until the end of the month and see if they had any shots left, but I decided that since we were already there, we might as well get both kids vaccinated now. Little did I know, I should have waited!

I told Nathan it was no big deal. If he just counted to 3, it would be over. When a different nurse came in with the mist, I told her he was nervous about it and really wanted the shot instead. She was really sweet (at first). Nathan started to cry and said he didn't want to sit on the table to get it so she said he could stand right by me. As soon as she started to put it by his nose, he stopped her and said, "Wait, wait, wait, I want to give my mommy a kiss first." So he gave me and kiss and said he was ready. She tried again and he stopped her and said, "Is it going to be cold?" She said no and said she would count to five and then do it. She started counting. Nathan stopped her and said (through tears). "Stop, I really don't want you to count. I'll just count." She said fine. He counted and then she raised her hand, and he stopped her again. Now the nurse is getting frustrated and told him that if he didn't let her do it this time, she was going to have to lay him on the table and hold him down. Well, this completely upset him. That is one thing he did NOT want to do, be held down. I told Nathan to please cooperate, and it will be done and then we will go get an ice cream cone. She tried again, and of course, Nathan put his arm up to stop her. She said "Ok, lets go to the table." Nathan completely lost it then. He started screaming and thrashing around. I was trying to calm him down and hug him, but then the nurse just grabbed him, picked him up, and took him to the table. And I swear I thought Nathan was going to hit her! He went absolutely crazy! Screaming, kicking, trying to get away. I'm sure every single person in that building heard him. Like the school incident, part of me was so frustrated with him for acting like this, and then the other part of me was thinking this is not worth it! I told the nurse I was so sorry and maybe we should just stop. But she was determined to give it to him. Everything was a blur at this point. He was pleading with her for one more chance. She said, "Nope, I gave you a chance." Somehow, she got his arms down and was able to do one side of his nose and then the other. He ended up calming down enough to realize it wasn't as bad as he thought it was, but he had also gotten himself so worked up, that it was almost out of his control. As soon as it was over, I was holding him and saying "Nathan, what in the world got into you?!" I was completely mortified. He said he was sorry and was trying to catch his breath and kind of laughed at himself. I was just so relieved it was over! I was one sweaty mess by this time. I told him it was ok and just kept holding him.

Now the nurse turns to Charlotte. Oh crap. After seeing what Nathan just went through, there is no way in hell she is going to let this lady close to her. The nurse kneels down in front of Charlotte and says, "Charlotte, can you show me how you sniff?" Charlotte sniffs. Then the nurse says, "I'm going to spray this into both sides of your nose and all you have to do is sniff." Spray, spray. Sniff, sniff. Charlotte did it without one complaint and it was over in 3 seconds. Nathan and I both looked at her in disbelief. The nurse stands up, walks to the door, opens it, and as she leaves, she says, "Mom, you might want to think twice about the ice cream cone...I wouldn't want to reward THAT." And she leaves. So I'm there holding this big 6 year old who is still trying to catch his breath from crying so hard, looking at Charlotte in awe that she was so good, and thinking the nurse was a "you know what" for saying that to me!!!! Yes, Nathan went a little ballistic, almost assaulted her, and probably scared every little kid in that place, but what right did she have to criticize my little boy? We went straight to the ice cream shop, and I was just thankful that I wouldn't have to go back there anytime soon!

Nathan ended up getting strep two days later, but thank goodness it was on a weekend, and I was able to take him to the after-hours place instead of going back to our doctor's office :)

And we are definitely waiting for the shot next year!