Patient of the Year

I haven't really blogged about how much Elliot has been sick in his little life. Between colds, croup, gastro, and rashes, it seems like he always has something. This year he's been diagnosed with asthma and learned to use an inhaler (thanks to a fancy spacer with a little whistle and toy that spins when he gets it right). And for the last couple of months, Elliot has been on antibiotics pretty much the whole time. First, it was a persistent ear infection that would just not clear up and has led to a referral to an ENT for tubes/grommets in his ear. (We've got our fingers crossed that the doc says they're not necessary now that the ear infection has finally cleared up.) And now he's had this horrible chest infection for weeks which has now been diagnosed as pneumonia! Can he just catch a break already??

But this post isn't just about how sick Elliot's been. Nope, it's about what a gallant and hilarious little patient he is. As you can imagine, the folks at the doctor's office know us quite well by now. And Elliot is also pretty familiar with the place. As soon as we walk in, he scans the room for potential playmates and beelines for the toys. After a few minutes with the standard toys, he kindly brings me a magazine and requests his rice puffs (which I've learned to always bring to the doctor's in order to appease him if the wait gets long and he gets restless).

Once Dr. Keji (a wonderful six-foot Nigerian woman) calls his name, Elliot drops everything and takes off after her. He strolls into her office and climbs up on the chair next to her desk and lifts up his shirt so she can listen to his chest (whether she wants to or not). Once she's listened to his chest and back, he says 'ears' and turns his head so that she can check his ears (whether she wants to or not). With ears taken care of, Elliot turns and looks at Dr. Keji and says 'aaaah' (again whether she wants to check his throat or not). At this point, Dr. Keji is usually cracking up and Elliot has hopped off the chair and onto the scales. And once all the medical business is taken care of, Elliot cheekily opens up the sticker drawer and waits for his reward for being such a great patient. Finally, he heads for the door, saying 'bye' (whether we're ready to go or not!)