A. she could come back Friday morning by 9:00 and one of the nurses could give him the shot or
B. she could take the shot home and give it to him herself.
The son-in-law would have most definitely chosen option A, since he isn't a big fan of needles, but he was on an underway and not available to consult or to be a possible shot shooter. The oldest daughter knew she didn't want to give the shot either so she chose option A.
When the youngest daughter and I got to the hospital and the oldest daughter shared her decision with us, I said, "Well you know your sister has given your dad his insulin shots on occasion and she is pretty good at it. Maybe she could give Shad his shot."
She chimed in, "Yeah, I could do it."
"Really?"
"I think so."
We threw the options back and forth for a while. None of us really wanted to come back to the hospital the next day, and the youngest daughter was willing, so the nurse was informed that mom had changed her mind and the shot would leave with us.
For some reason, when the shot instructions were actually given before our departure, the delivery time had changed from 8:00 to 11:00 PM. We decided that maybe this was better since there was a possibility that Shad would even stay asleep until the shot had been administered. Obviously Shad doesn't enjoy getting the shot, but the anticipation is usually worse for him than the actual delivery, so we were hoping we could perhaps make a quick, surprise attack and then it would be over with before he realized what had happened.
Shad went to bed around eight and when the time came for the shot the youngest daughter got out the information sheet to review the directions. There was even a handy-dandy picture to show her exactly what to do.
It was determined that the shot would go into his thigh and we all quietly went upstairs and proceeded to carry out "Operation Shot in the Dark".
Unfortunately things didn't go quite as we had hoped. As soon as his mom started to pull down his pajamas to expose his leg Shad woke up and wanted to know what she was doing. Believing that honesty is the best policy, she informed him that we had to give him a shot - the doctor said. Shad started to cry. The oldest daughter started to cry. I grabbed his arms, his mom grabbed his legs, and the youngest daughter inserted the needle, pushed the plunger, and was done. A band-aid was quickly applied as Shad and mommy continued to cry. The youngest daughter and I quickly exited the room while the oldest daughter stayed to console Shad. He was mad at her, since he assumed that she was the one who had administered the shot, and let her suffer for a few minutes, but it didn't take long for him to go back to sleep.
Fast forward to today.
Shad seems to have survived the middle of the night adventure and isn't holding any grudges toward any of us. I am adjusting his pants and he informs me to be careful because the band-aid on his leg might pull. Curious about what he remembers, I ask, "Why do you have a band-aid on your leg?". He thinks for a minute and then says, "Why do I have a band-aid on my leg?"
We all plead ignorance. Honesty may be the best policy, but in this case we felt the less said, the better.
The youngest daughter and I are both happy with the Option B choice. The oldest daughter is still undecided if it's the route she will go with next time. I guess only time will tell if there will be an "Operation Shot in the Dark - Take 2". The youngest daughter is going to be around for a few more shots though, so at least it's an option.
Today I am thankful that
Shad is home from the hospital and doing well.
the youngest daughter is willing to attempt new things and has a dad that lets her practice giving shots.
I got to fly home from California instead of drive. The actual trip is a lot quicker.
1 comment:
I think the experience definitely seems more traumatic for Jessica. Maybe next time you'll have to get her to sleep in a position where she can still hold shad and let the shot be administered while she is asleep.
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