MOSAIC MOMENTS

Yesterday, on the Down Syndrome Info Exchange, one of the moms started a conversation where she accidentally gave the wrong child the wrong medicine. Thankfully, everything was OK and no ill effects were encountered.

As parents, we all do things that we had no intention in doing, but lets face it! We are busy people! And sometimes we make mistakes.

As the great parents on this egroup began to discuss all the crazy, half-witted, things we have each done as parents, I began to think about Tim in his younger days and wondered-not how I survived him, but how he survived me!

I was, without a doubt, an extremely sleep deprived single-mother whose only source of energy was the constant intake of caffeine via my addiction to Coca Cola.

Tim was energetic as a young child. Well, that is truly an understatement! Tim was diagnosed with severe ADHD at 2 years old. He had the attention span of less than 60 seconds and was constantly bouncing off the walls from the moment his eyes opened in the morning (usually around 5 am) to the time his eyes closed in the evening (thankfully around 8pm).

It was those in between hours that got to me the most. There was never a moment that I could take my eyes off of Tim. I couldn’t just run to the restroom. I couldn’t sit and have a conversation with someone and I rarely left the house because it was just easier to stay home!

Keep in mind, that this (ADHD) has nothing to do with Tim having mosaic Down syndrome. This is just a special added extra that we happen to be “so lucky” to have!

So, one morning when Tim was about 6 years old he came to me and said he had an ear ache. I was busy cleaning house and knowing that Tim often had ear aches because of fluid back-up, I didn’t think much about it. I grabbed his ear drops from the medicine cabinet, quickly warmed them in a cup of hot water and inserted a couple of drops into his ear.

“OK, All Better!” I said and ushered him back in front of his cartoons, so that I could continue my house cleaning.

About 30 minutes later, while I was bending over the bathtub to scrub the corners that are always so hard to get, Tim came into the bathroom and announced, once again, that his ear hurt.

“Oh brother!” I thought “I hope this isn’t going to be another one of those bad ear infections.” So, I finished with the tub, washed my hands and once again warmed the ear drops.

“Tilt your head, so I can put in the drops” I told him.

He told me that that was not the problem.

In my hurry, I tilted his head and inserted the drops while I told him that he didn’t know better than I did. After all… I was his mother and I had LOADS of experience in ear pain! He only had about 6 years experience and as his mother, a much older and wiser person, I knew what was best for him!

I tried to usher him back to cartoons, so I could complete my house cleaning.

Thankfully, Tim dug his heals in and said “I know WHY my ear hurts!”

“OK” I sighed “Why does your ear hurt?” (Mr. Authority on ear pain!)

“I have popcorn in my ear” he said, pointing at his ear to prove the point.

Popcorn….yeah right!

He insisted that I look. Which in all honesty I never actually LOOKED at his ear when inserting these drops, not once but twice!

So, to appease him I looked into his ear. And, wedged tightly in his ear canal was a genuine Orville Redenbaucker popcorn kernel!

“Hmmm…. no wonder the drops didn’t work” I thought

I asked him where he got the popcorn kernel. He told me it was on the floor in front of the TV from the evening before when he and Arron were eating it and watching a movie. (I should have begun my house cleaning with vaccuming)

Quickly I realized that this was so wedged into his ear that there was no way for me to get it out! I called the doctor and he too was dismayed, so he instructed me to go to the Emergency Room.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your view of perspective, the Emergency Room and I were on a first name basis. Mainly because of my eldest son Arron and his bi-monthly visits due to what ever major cut or break he had encountered for the day.

So, we arrived and were quickly seen (I had my own suite there in room 2) and as the doctor tried to pry the kernel out with an ear wax remover, he told me that he thought he may have to call a specialist!

I asked him, “A Popcorn specialist or an ENT?”

“Both” he replied confidently.

He gave it one more try and thankfully the popcorn kernel popped out and flew across the room!

There are two morals to this story.

1. Always look into the ear, nose, mouth before deciding that you have earned the authority to know what the problem is.

2. Orville Redenbaucker popcorn truly does have the largest popcorn kernels! Try something much cheaper…. it will be easier to remove!

Visit “Our Family” for new pictures!

Don’t miss out on new articles! Click Here to subscribe and receive one email daily to remind you a new article has been posted!

Did you like this story? Click the Buzz Up button to make your vote! The more votes the more we spread awareness about mosaic Down syndrome and Down syndrome!