Amelia has hypothyroidism, which is not uncommon for people who have Down Syndrome. Her six month check-up is this Friday, and I had to take her for the bloodwork today. Despite the blood draw every 6 months for more than 6 years now, she still does not take it well. The poor girl begins crying when we go into the exam room and she realizes it is not a routine appointment. She starts the screaming and writhing about when the little butterfly needle appears. It is hard to help hold her down, I would almost rather leave her to the team of nurses and come "rescue" her when they are done.
Today wasn't actually too bad. One nurse and I held her while another took the blood, out of her hand this time. Amelia screamed until the needle went in, and then stopped. At first I thought the hand would be worse, but she actually wrenches her arms more when they go for the inside of her elbow. She did start to cry again when the band-aid appeared; she has never liked them and associates them with pain. The McDonalds french fries afterwards helped her calm down; she even insisted on bringing them home to share with Micah.
Micah also has hypothyroidism, but he takes the routine blood draw much better. The poor guy had so many health issues in his first two years that he practically lived in the hospital. Now when we go for bloodwork, he helps the nurses poke around his arm, and points to the best spot.
Maybe he could teach Amelia to be a little less scared? At least it is six months before she has to go through it again!
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1 comment:
When I saw that headline, I thought you'd had your video visit with Sunny!!
Poor Amelia. I hope her little boo-boo hand recovers quickly.
xo
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