Yesterday I had an appointment with a gastroenterologist as a follow-up appointment to my hospital visit. This was at the main building on Capitol Hill, which if you’re not familiar with Seattle is close enough to downtown to be a pain in the ass, especially with parking, considering I’m coming from 7 miles north. Sure, it’s only 7 miles, but when dealing with kids, 7 miles can be a lot.
Yes, dealing with kids. The appointment was for 10 am, a couple of hours before Xavier started preschool. And of course I had Tevye.
Everything went as good as I could hope for logistically. Yes, it took me longer than I had hoped to find parking, but that wasn’t much of a problem since Tevye fell asleep on the road – something I was actually hoping for. He wouldn’t be getting much of a morning nap and anything he could get would be worth it. I had a bottle with me in case it was needed.
I checked in to the to place about a half hour before my appointment figuring if I was early there was a greater chance of getting out at least at a reasonable time, rather than showing up on time, waiting around and feeling like I was having a late appointment. If getting the waiting done early meant being able to have enough time to take Xavier to school on time it would be worth it.
Checking in we sat in the waiting area and I pulled out the Kindle tablet for Xavier to play on. There are a few games he likes to play and since I knew we would be waiting I had packed it in with the diaper bag. That kept Xavier occupied and I pulled Tevye out of his carrier and played with him.
After a while we were taken back and had the general intake with the nurse (vitals, going over the same questions as on the paperwork, etc.). Then of course more waiting. This was, however, about 10 minutes before I was supposed to be there for my appointment (9:50) so things were moving along almost exactly as planned. And the kids were both being very well behaved. Xavier was playing quietly on the Kindle and Tevye was his usual smiley self.
The doctor came in and I was seen and after more paperwork I was out of there at 10:30 which is a heck of a lot better than I had expected. Tevye fell asleep on the way home, which was alright, Xavier ate his lunch in the van (which I had already prepared and brought since I wasn’t sure how long we would be) so when we got home there was ample time to head over to Fred Meyer to get a treat for Xavier to reward him for his stellar behavior and patience – and to pick up a few groceries.
As for the actual medical portion of the visit, it was determined I should continue on with the medication for a little while longer, then wait a couple of weeks after that’s done to submit another sample for the H. Pylori test, then have another endoscopy.