Two positive tests & a hunch

Strep tests that is. Got your attention didn't I? That is a mean trick, I know. Anyway, yes we all have strep. As you know from below Jon and Noah have been feeling bad for over a week although Jon claims that was a whole different illness and the strep just started this week. Jon's sore throat started on Friday or Saturday. He said it felt like swallowing glass. I told him to go to the doctor. He didn't.

Anyway, I woke up on Monday with a slight sore throat. On Tuesday it felt like someone was stabbing me in the neck with knives. I get sore throats a lot when I have a cold. This was like NOTHING I have ever experienced. I knew right away that it was strep because I've never had strep and this was like no other sore throat. So even though I hadn't felt bad for too long I made a doctor's appointment. And I must confess that I made the appointment late enough in the day that I thought Jon might be off work. I did this so that I could convince Jon to come with me under the guise of "watching Noah for me while I was in seeing the doctor." But really my plan was that Jon would be there so that when my strep test came back positive I could have the docotor check Jon too. I know this is sneaky, but it was done in the name of love for my husband who would have let his throat get so ulcerated that there was a hole through to the outside before going to the doctor. I love Jon so much but he does not go to the doctor easily. I know this is also not nice to the doctor since Jon didn't actually have an appointment, but Jon rotated with the guy so we know him well, and I was prepared to insist that he charge us for two appointments...anyway.

So Jon did get off work early and he met me and Noah at the doctor's office. When I was called back he and Noah came with me. And sure enough when the doctor came in to tell me my test came back positive we got to talking and unaware of my plan Jon started coughing and sputtering as he had been doing all week so I mentioned to the doctor that really Jon seemed even sicker than me. So the doctor said, "Well then let's have a look at you Jon." And then he said, "Wow! Jon your throat looks even worse than Mandy's. You actually have ulcerations back there." Yikes! So he didn't even swab Jon. He just prescribed me a double dose of the medicine so Jon could take some of it also.

Now after all of this transpired I had made my mind up that I would take Noah to his doctor (Dr. Randy) the next day for his own test. But after looking at Jon nice Dr. Fohl said, "and how is Noah?" We told him Noah had not been himself, had a little fever etc., so he said, "well, let's take a look at him then." And eventually Noah got a positive strep result too. Now I felt really bad. Not only did we get a 2 for 1 doctor visit but we got a 3 for 1 visit. Noah isn't even on Dr. Fohl's patient roster, but despite our protesets Dr. Fohl was not about to let us leave without checking Noah out too. So we insisted that he bill us accordingly and he kind of did.

After the appointment we went to the nearby Panera for supper, but eating felt like swallowing nails so we aborted dinner and Jon and Noah went home while I went back to church for a meeting.

Do I feel bad about being so sneaky in getting my husband to the doctor? A little bit, but its worth it to see him getting treatment and feeling better. Who knows how long he would have gone on in that agony if I hadn't done what I did. And after it was all said and done and I told Jon about my plan he did thank me for looking out for him.

And poor little Noah. I feel so bad for not taking him in sooner. But how's a person to know when a little one who can't talk has a sore throat? We so don't want to be the parents who take their kid to the doctor for every little common cold, but we also don't want to be the parents whose kid has pneumonia and we're just trying to wait it out. It's such a fine balance. I think that's part of what makes Jon so hesitant to go to the doctor himself. He's seen too many patients in clinic who come in for the most mundane things...patients who if they would just wait another day or two would be better on their own. So in the end I think we make a good team. Jon helps us wait a bit to see if something is really serious or not and I get us to the doctor eventually when need be.