Stressful Trip to Duke

We had another appointment at Duke last week.  I had to go back and look at my last post to see if this one was our 7th or 8th trip.  The appointments are all starting to run together.  This appointment was quite uneventful in that we saw no significant reaction to the increase in drops (2 drops of 1/10 solution, up from just 1 drop) and there was no opportunity to ask her doctor questions that I could later blog about.  Abigail even ordered the same food (which is the highlight of her visit) as the last several trips.  So, why was this particular trip so stressful?

Anyone that knows me, knows that I've got a major Type A personality.  The preparation (and we all know that Type A's have to prepare) for this visit just about did me in.  It was our first appointment with Abigail being in school.  It was also preschool orientation for my 2 year old son... his first day going to school, seeing his classroom and meeting his teacher.  And, that evening, a parent meeting at his school.  One of those meetings that if you're late and the last in line for the volunteer sign ups, you end up having to either host the class Christmas party or be room parent.  You moms know what I'm talking about.  So, there was a strict time schedule for the day, and I couldn't miss a beat.  I also had to have snacks and lunch packed for the car, the "Duke" bag packed with the remaining drops, daily log, etc. for the appointment, my son's diaper bag with extras for his stay with my mom, the note for Abigail's school, and so on.  To top it off, emotionally, it was a big day because my sweet baby boy was starting preschool.  Add it all up, and I was a stressed out, sick to my stomach mess. 

Here's how it played out.  I got Abigail out the door to school at 6:50, got my son and myself packed up and to church by 9:00, got him all settled in his new class, sat through a parent orientation, swung by the church library for movies for the car trip (it's a long one), picked him up and got to Abigail's school by 10:20, checked her out and got both kids settled with snacks by 10:30, made a quick drive-thru stop for caffeine, passed out brown bag lunches (didn't stop for that) and pulled into mom's driveway at 12:15, was back out minus my son and heading to Duke by 12:30, parked and late to our appointment at 1:15, checked out of Duke at 3:10 and back to mom's house by 3:50, through the McDonald's drive-thru (yuck!) at 4:30, finally pulling into my driveway around 6:30, kids in bed by 7:15, back at the church for the preschool meeting at 7:30, home with glass of wine in hand at 8:45 and lights out at 9:45.  Minus the evening meeting, this is what I've got to look forward to every other week for the next 5 months.

I knew it wasn't going to be easy.  But, wow, how physically draining.  My husband is going to work from home once a month and take over getting our son to and from preschool.  That'll mean that he can stay at preschool the entire morning, and I can eliminate the extra packing and drop off at mom's.  Meantime, I've got to focus on the big picture, on what our family hopes to gain, on Abigail's future.

In this picture, Abigail is sporting her backpack.  This visit wasn't much fun for her either.  This summer we played games to pass the time.  This fall, instead, she has to do her homework.  Our next visit is this coming Monday.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  For me, that I don't get bogged down with the preparation details, and for Abigail, because next visit is going to be a difficult one.  She doesn't know it yet, but they're going to do a blood draw, saliva collection and skin prick test.