Unbelievably Angry

Last week when I took Baby Bean back to daycare after our two week vacation, she was in perfect health (finally). Upon entering the infant room, I was greeted by a very snot covered nosed boy. I looked at him, smiled, and thought to myself, "I bet you $50 Baby Bean has his cold by Wednesday." Sure enough, Wednesday evening my daughter's nose began to run. As the days went on, she developed a cough to go with it. Nothing abnormal. I tried to nip it all in the bud by giving her some prescription decongestants she received last time she was sick. I also didn't want her ear infections coming back. By Sunday night, she was not only coughing a lot, she was wheezing when she breathed. I told Hubs I had to take her to the doctor first thing in the morning.

This morning I got to work and the first thing to greet me was the blue screen of death... twice. The IT guy came over to swipe my computer for the morning to reimage the hard drive. While he was doing so, I called and made an appointment with the pediatrician for my daughter. By 9:20, I had a borrowed laptop in hand, knowing full well I wouldn't be back in for the rest of the day, and headed to pick up Baby Bean.

When I got to the daycare, her teacher looked surprised to see me. I told her I was taking my baby. She asked if I was taking her to the doctor, and I told her I was. She made a comment about her cough and wheezing, and then told me that a couple of the kids had been diagnosed with bronchitis the week before. I was steamed. She then told me that the parents of those children brought their kids in every day and waited for them to get sick enough to run a fever before taking them out of daycare and to the doctor. I was even more steamed. She said she was glad I was being responsible and taking my daughter before she got to the point. I told her I wasn't an idiot and knew my baby needed to go to the doctor before she hit the fever stage.

We got to the doctor's office on time and sat in the exam room for half an hour past our appointment time before we were seen. Shortly after the doctor came in and checked out Baby Bean, she said she was almost positive the baby has RSV.

I can't even tell you the amount of rage that was welling up inside me at that moment. I was so incredibly, unbelievably ANGRY!!!

The doctor ordered an instant RSV test and a breathing treatment. Let me tell you, if you have never done a breathing treatment with a child before, it is horrendous. Not because the treatment is bad, but because the child hates it. The whole time I was holding the mask over my baby's face she was screaming bloody murder and kicking like crazy. I rested my head on hers and cried.

The RSV test came back positive, and Baby Bean's wheeziness only cleared up a little bit, so the doctor began telling me about the prescriptions and treatments ahead. The whole time I was seething with the irresponsible parents from daycare. She told me I would have to buy a nebulizer to give Baby Bean breathing treatments at home with two different prescriptions. The first one two times a day, and the second one four times a day, then I have to give her an oral medication to help keep the inflammation and mucus in her lungs down. On top of that, Baby Bean has another ear infection, so she got antibiotics.

By the time we were done there, it was an hour and a half past Baby Bean's nap time, so I took her home and let her rest while I called the daycare to tell them the news. First I had called Hubs who told me not to bother calling them so that the other parents could learn their children were sick the hard way. I told him that just because they were @-holes didn't mean I was one too. When I did call, they were shocked. But before I let them hang up the phone, I asked the girl to please tell the other parents of sick children that I did not appreciate them bringing their kids to school when they were sick because it was their fault my child was now this sick. I let her know I was very angry, not at the daycare, but at the parents.

Now before you tell me that I was one of those parents today, I am going to say that I took my daughter in this morning because she got sick from there. And I honestly told Hubs this morning that I hoped Baby Bean had a different variation from what the snot-nosed little boy had so she could give it back to him. I've been ticked off about it since last week. Not only that, but the damage is done. The germs are there and have been spread.

After lunch, Baby Bean and I went to the store to get her prescriptions filled. I knew the nebulizer was going to run me around $80. I figured I would be lucky to get out of there under $200. We turned in our prescriptions and waited. And waited. And waited. When they were finally ready, the girl at the pharmacy told me I was in for sticker shock.

$525!!! I kid you not!

She then told me if my doctor allowed it, I could get a generic on the one prescription that cost $300 all by itself. I told her to call and we'd wait. So we waited. And waited. And waited. Baby Bean was an hour past nap time, and she messed her diaper. Things were awesome.

Finally they got the authorization for the generic and it dropped my bill down to $200. We spent freaking 3 hours waiting for those prescriptions. So on top of the cost and the anger already inside me, I had wasted an entire day at the doctor's office and pharmacy. Rest assured, however, that I was kind to everyone. No one knew I was seething on the inside except my husband and parents.

Tonight I want to go knock some parent's heads together. Because in addition to the fact that my child has a potentially life-threatening virus and now has a predisposition to asthma later in her childhood, and the fact that I lost an entire day from work coupled with the major hit to my wallet, we also get to pay for a week's worth of daycare when my child won't even be there thanks to the irresponsibility of stupid, selfish parents. I want to beat this week's tuition out of them. I really can't remember the last time I was this angry. Today cost me well over a grand when all is said and done. Yes, folks, I am seethingly mad.

Every time I hear my child cough in the next room while she sleeps, I get mad. Every time she wakes up screaming bloody murder during the night because she is having a hard time breathing, I want to beat a parent from the daycare. I really freaking hate daycare.

Now, if you actually made it to the end of this tirade, I would like to thank you very sincerely for braving the ride. I will reward you with love and comments on your blogs (which I am now way behind on). :D