Every three months, Eddie is required to have his blood drawn to check on hormone replacements he must take. The day begins by fasting (starting at midnight)…no food OR water. For Eddie, the water is the hardest part. From the time Eddie wakes up, he follows me around the house saying, “drink of water”. “Drink of water.” “Drink of water.” It is horrible because he doesn’t understand why Mom is being so stingy with the water. I’m sure he’s thinking, “It’s just water. I’m not asking for pancakes!”
After a few hours of feeling like a horribly negligent parent, I am finally able to take him to the hospital for the blood draw. I must say, I was so proud of him today because he walked all the way to the car and back with me in one hand and his cane in the other hand. It is a LONG walk to the back of the hospital and he marched right along not dropping has cane once. I could tell even the random onlookers were impressed (with Eddie and with his Mom’s patience).
The only good part about labs is the language Eddie comes up with. Last time he said, “goodbye, thank you” repeatedly until we actually left. He won the hospital staff over even though he was so upset. Today, he started by saying “goodbye”, “goodbye”, “goodbye.” After he got poked with the needle, he had those giant crocodile tears that immediately trigger my “mom” tears.
I was trying to keep it together, when out of nowhere he says, “See you later, alligator.” Followed quickly by, “After a while, crocodile.” Just like that, we were all smiling, the blood draw was over, and Eddie was enjoying a nice tall glass of water…followed by, “Goodbye, thank you.”