"Picking Up The Meds"

Friday was a landmark day! It marks the first day I have ventured out of the house with both boys......and no help! You heard me right. I have actually loosed my grasp on my husband and allowed him to begin getting back to his work with the OHOP prayer room... and it wasn't half bad. Here is a Synopsis Titled: Picking Up The Meds!

Somehow in the process of learning how to dose up meds for Asher, we must have wasted an entire day's worth of Methadone (the drug used to ween Asher's body from his Narcotic addiction after the surgery) because we ran out an entire day early. No prob, got a new prescription in time and dropped it off to be refilled. Received a call stating the prescription isn't getting filled because Medicaid won't pay for it until it has been 1 month since last pickup. That's fine, except there is a nice little day gap between the end of my bottle and Saturday.......so I call them up and tell them I will pay cash for the drug because I don't want my darling little Asher going through Narcotic Withdrawals for an entire day just so insurance will foot the bill. Walgreens says "ok" and I plan to pick the drug up on Friday. Long story short, I call them 3 times, each time explaining the situation and saying I'll pay cash for the drug and they say OK....only to not do anything about filling the prescription. Friday morning rolls around and after FINALLY loading my family in the car (2 hours later than planned) I begin my treck to Michigan St.....all the way downtown to pick up the med that I'm praying is there. the boys handled the car ride there pretty well. Joel chattering along in the back seat center, pointing out ever bus, truck and tractor along the way......Asher sleeping lazily next to him. I've pretty much got it made so far..... and have the convenience of a drive through pharmacy waiting for me so I don't even have to struggle with getting both the boys out at the same time! I'm thinking, "I can do this...why was I freaking out about driving around and running errands alone before!?". Oh, just wait.... I finally pull up to that convenient drive through and wait for my turn.. . .being sure to crack the windows and turn off my car to avoid overheating. It's getting a little warm, but we are only going to be here a moment, then back on the road with our mediocre AC (thank God for what we have). I pull up and tell the nice man behind the glass that I'm here to pick up my son's medicine and receive the same speil I've heard 4 other times. "Well, we have one of your prescriptions ready, but the other is being denied payment because it hasn't been a month yet".....are you for real!??? "yes I know that sir, I told your pharmacist 3 times that I would go ahead and pay cash for the drug".....and he wisked off in a flurry of apologies to get the drug ready while I did another loop around the building. 10 minutes later and I'm back at the window (this is a VERY popular Walgreens) to find the drug still not drawn up. Problems with dosage.....no worries I can wait, but can my boys. While we have been waiting, I've been drawing on every trick in my mommy bag to keep Joel entertained and not screeching to "Git Dowwwwn". Juice, crackers, all natural fruit chew strips, magna-doodles ....the car version, anything to keep his attention . Just as I think we are going to make it without event, I hear Asher start to cry and I turn around to check on the little guy only to see Joel's shoe in his face. That's right....and it was still attached to his foot. Joel thought it was great fun to start putting his dirty crock shoe on Asher's head!!! Out of horror, Joel got a few little wacks on his shorts and was told not to hurt his little brother. "Ma'am ... we are still having problems figuring out how to dose this med for your son" comes through the speaker and I'm wondering if Asher is going to make it through this. (Of course he toughed it through open heart surgery at 2 weeks and all of the complications of an ER admittance when nearly dead, but being left to the anticks of a frustrated 2 year old is an entirely different matter!) I remember driving around when I was a teenager, and seeing women going through similar situations with their kids. They were straining with all their might to stretch backwards into the seat behind them and keep their kids entertained, fed, nucks back in the mouth and in my case, shoes off the baby's face and oh...btw...don't forget to burb the g-tube line while you're at it mom!! I must have looked half crazy to the young girl in the car next to me. Finally , I get my prescription and start the 30 minute trek back home only now I have a crying infant and a tired Joel ....so I have to pull over and burp Asher's g-tube line again and appease Joel with the reward of chick-fil-a to calm him over not being able to get out of the car. Thank God the car didn't overheat to top the day off!!! By the time I finally make it back to Ocoee and Chick-fil-A, both the boys are sleeping and the car is finally quiet again so I just go through the drive through to pick up my FREE 3 piece chicken tenders (love coupons!!!!) and then headed home where I lugged both sleeping kids through the front door and try to put Joel to bed for his nap. No such luck....he's power napped and is up and at em again! I don't really need to go on any longer......any mommy's out there can fill in the rest of the daily melodrama with their own experiences. In fact, the only reason I typed this up was to shine a little light on the lives of momma's out there. No one really knows how tirering it is to take care of kids, until they themselves walk through it. You go momma's everywhere!!!

So, yeah, that was my first outing alone with the boys........and yes, Asher is still alive and doing quite well, despite the scuff marks on his forhead (literally) I do have to say that I feel strangely proud of myself for handling today as well as I did. Each day under my belt is another boost to my mommy confidence and helps me believe that .....I can do this!!!

~Erika~