Trip to the Doctors

The day was sunny and hot just what we wanted for our plans, but first there was question of Lucy's cough to sort out. Clearly that had to be dealt with before we could do anything else.I remembered the last time she had been like this and how ended up getting worse and worse until she was coughing so much she would make herself sick. I wasn't going to let that happen again and I think her mummy would have done the same thing if she was in my shoes.

Lucy understandably got up later than usual. She didn't have the best of nights sleep with her cough. She seemed bright enough and said she felt alright other than the cough. Soon we were downstairs, with Catherine following us down moments later. Both girls ended up sitting on the floor in the living room watching television as they both woke while I had a coffee. What I did notice is that every time that Lucy exerted herself she ended up coughing. It was this and the fact she was asking me to get things she would normally get herself without even thinking and what happened over night that convinced me she should see the Doctor, just to get her checked over, that shaped the day.

Anyway, after a bit Lucy wanted some breakfast and Catherine did the honours and got them both some food which they both ate chatting at the table. While they were eating I called the doctors only to find out I had to call the out of hours service and they were really busy so I had to wait for a call back. It strange to think before my GP surgery took over the providing some of the services at the local hospital I could have just turned up. I'm not sure if it is progress or not as it meant we had to wait around for hours and that changed all our plans. Given the weather I wanted to make the most of the sunshine and there we all were waiting by a phone.

Emily got up about an hour later than Catherine and Lucy after Lucy managed to climb up into her bed to wake her up. Emily doesn't seem to mind very much and always give her a cuddle and smiles after a initial groan. She came down to join the other two girls who had moved into the family room together. Emily just sat down and spent some time with Lucy by her side watching a little television while she arranged for Millie to turn up for the day. The one game they all played, while waiting for Millie to turn up, which generated the most excitement was hide and seek. The were hiding all over the house and garden. Any where it was possible to hide they must have hid at one point. Millie turned up just before lunchtime at around the same time as I got a call and an appointment at the hospital. Lucy loves Millie and they really get on well together and Millie is wonderful in making her feel included. All four of the them played until it was time to leave for the doctors.

We went to the doctors just before one in the afternoon and delaying our trip to supermarket and lunch in order to save fuel by doing all of the trips in one. At the doctors I explained how she had been over the last twenty fours and how the cough was worse over night as was her breathing and in the mornings was coughing when she exerted herself. She didn't seem to have a temperature and Lucy confirmed that she had a cold recently but had seemed to have cleared as far as the doctor could tell and wasn't the cause of the problem. The Doctor said she though it was probably airways closing up and prescribed her an inhaler for to use for a week to help her breathing until the condition cleared up, something she had had before. She mentioned it could be asthma but it wasn't anything to worry about she just needed some help while nature did the rest. I was worried that I wasting the Doctors time but she reassured me I wasn't.

Once we got home, after rushing round the supermarket I got on with making a quick lunch for everyone so we could make the best use of the time we had left of the day. We were going out to Rutland Water for a picnic but there wasn't the time for that so instead we all headed out to the park in Oakham. The girls had great fun playing there in the playground and the swings. Emily and Millie managed to met up with some friends and Lucy, who got up the courage to go with them, managed to secure half a tube of Pringles from one of them with her smile. It was while we were there that Catherine and myself found a smashed up ipod touch, still working but locked, sitting on one of the picnic benches. While Emily and Millie carried on playing with Lucy we both headed off to the police station to hand it in. When we got there it was closed much to our surprise and we ended up having to keep it until the station opens again on Monday.

At three we dropped Emily off with Millie at her house for a sleep over. We wouldn't be seeing Emily again until just before lunch on Sunday. We headed back to Oakham and to the Chemist to get Lucy's prescription fulfilled. It was when we had tried both the chemists in town we realised we had a problem. The second one started phoning around for the tube to go with the inhaler the doctor had prescribed and there wasn't one in the county or in the nearest two large towns. Determined to get one before the day was done we went home and started ringing further a field with very little luck, however one of the chemists in Peterborough had replacement but but couldn't give it too use unless we got the prescription change. So it was off to the doctors again. Thankfully they saw us right away. Time was running out. On the off chance there one of the new type in Oakham we went to the chemists again. At Boots the pharmacist, while he sorted out the inhaler, phoned the branch in Uppingham just in case they had one, and thankfully they did and we where saved a trip to Peterborough and the only problem was getting there before they closed which we managed with time to spare.

Every time I have been to Uppingham I have said I must take the girls to the park there and the only thing that has put me off is I couldn't see a playground for Lucy, just things for older children to play on. It turns out what you can't see from the road is the playground hidden behind the football club. As soon as we found somewhere to park my heart lightened, I spotted the missing playground and I knew that we had one more chance for some fun before the end of the day. I was really starting to think the afternoon was going to be wasted but as it turned out the park turned out to give both Catherine and Lucy something to do and I can see Emily liking it there when she gets to go. The playground wasn't good as the one in Oakham but it Lucy loved it all the same and with the older children stuff, which Lucy had a go at too with Catherine, it offers something Oakham park lacks. They both had a great time there in the late afternoon/evening sun.

As the sun started to sink below the horizon we left and drove back to Oakham to the supermarket to pick up some cash from the cash machine and some more milk we needed for the morning. Lucy seems to be a milk monster at the moment. While we were there I managed to have enough change in my pocket for Lucy to have a go on the children's ride. She just beamed  from ear to ear the whole time she was on it. Our last stop before going home was the fish and chips shop to pick up some dinner. There wasn't time to cook we had used it all up in the park and we didn't want Lucy going to bed late after the night she had the night before.

Dinner didn't take too long both girls loved it and after a little play Catherine and myself got  Lucy ready for her bath. As I ran the bath Catherine got all her bits together and put them into Lucy's room. Lucy got herself undressed and waited for the bath to fill and for me to mix up the bubbles. Once it was done is she got in and we all had fun bathing her while she played and even washing her hair went without incident. It wasn't a long bath, there wasn't time but Lucy didn't mind getting out and getting in to her pink towelling bath robe to dry off. Soon she was getting in to her PJ's and sitting on her bed as she used her inhaler for the first time. Bless her, she remembered how to use the inhaler from last year and didn't really need telling what to do. With that out of the she snuggled up in bed and Catherine read her a couple of stories before I read her a final story for the night. After a kisses and cuddles from the people she loves she closed her eyes and went off into the lands of the dreams. I just hoped that tonight they wouldn't be interrupted.

After Lucy was down Catherine went off to the family room to chat to friends on facebook before joining me to watch the X-factor. She has loved the show since she was first introduced to it and I love watching it with the girls. I must say I'm not sure it is as good this year as it has been in the past. The quality of the singing doesn't seem as good this year and nobody has given me that wow factor of the past shows yet. After the show was finished Catherine went up to bed to join her little sister in her slumbers. As for me I kept checking on Lucy and thankfully her breathing was so much better and all I could hear was a gentle snore. All I hoped is she would have a peaceful night and not another like the the one the night before.

It been a lovely day with the girls despite having to change all we had planned. Nobody really complained and we managed to fit in a couple of trips out to the park to enjoy the weather along the way. Everyone seemed happy which was the aim of the day and with the weather forecast revised for tomorrow maybe we can make up for lost ground. We already have new plans to make up for the changes in what we were doing today. All we need is a better Lucy with a good nights sleep behind her.