Doctor B

Yesterday, I had to take Caleb to the paed.

About 3 weeks ago he had an ear infection, bla bla, and today he had to go and check if the fluid in his ears had drained. I forgot ALL about it. Until about 9:45am. His appointment was at 11am. He finishes school at 12 noon.

I dropped Ewan at work, raced home (while obeying the speed limit of course love...) *hides her TWO latest fines under the table* pulled into woolies, found they didn't have anything I wanted. Raced home, arrived at 10:05am, gave Dan, leisurely-milk-drinker McPhail a quick snack, brush my insane hair, give the fill-in maid lunch, pack the nappy bag with the 'kit' for going to the paed and leave the house by 10:20am.

On the way out of the house, i opened the fridge to pack the going to the paed kit, to get snacks and i managed to knock out one of the shelves with the baby-bag. It happened to be....that's right, the shelf with the eggs and chocolate sprinkles on it. argh. Egg and chocolate ants all over my shoes, my ginger mary 3/4 pants, the floor, the fridge front, the baby bag, the baby. I thought that the fill-in maid was going to wet her pants she was laughing so hard. She stopped laughing tho, when i told her that she would have to clean it up seeing as i was now late for the doctor!

I then start running up the stairs in my house, with Dan under one arm, and i think i squeezed his tummy a bit because he proceeded to vom into the baby bag and onto the toys and mango slices. The baby vom also ran all down my, all ready eggy and chocolate anty ginger mary 3/4 pants, and shoes. It is now 10:30am. The appointment is at 11am. I still have to collect Caleb from school.

I arrive at school at 10:40ish, grab Caleb, hurl him into the car, strap him and head off down the m13. All the way he is asking me these ridiculous questions about why he is leaving school early, and 'where are we going mommy?' and 'why are we going to see Dr Botha and not Dr Manjra mommy?' and 'Does Dr Botha have suckers?' etc etc etc ad nauseam. Eventually we settle on the fact that he likes Dr Botha and Dr Manjra, and that he will have a sucker and that he won't cry. Oh yes, and also he will ask Dr B if his ears are working properly.

I arrive at Westville Hospital at 10:55am. I pluck the kids from the car and RUN up the stairs and down the corridor to Dr Botha's office....puffing and panting and wheezing, i open the door and.....he is not even in yet. The waiting room is full of snotty, whingey little kiddies and their even whingier parents. Great. Just Great. I announce our presence and ask the receptionist if we can go and get some lunch and come back. There are 3 people in front of me so obviously it's not a problem.

Off we go, back to the car to get the pram, strap Dan in and off we go to the hospital restaurant (which is actually rather nice). Have some food (ie i ate a salad and tried to stop Caleb from completely mutilating his cheese and tomato sarmie.) We went back up to the doctors office at 12:00.

We sat down and start the loong wait. I bought Caleb a kids magazine to try and keep him entertained, and suddenly, every single other kid in the waiting room realises that he has....A TOY and a book.....they descend on our little corner, like a group of hungry vulchers who have just spied a particularly tasty morsel of dead something. Caleb, is not impressed. He puffs out his chest and starts to turn the pages quickly and in random directions (ie just to make sure that no-one can understand what he's doing or derive any enjoyment out of his book). 12:30 comes and goes. 13:00 comes...and goes........13:30 comes...and Dan needs a feed. So i take him into the filing cupboard (ie the room for us poor breastfeeding moms) and feed him. Meanwhile, Caleb is opening the cupboards and rifling through other peoples stuff and then...he starts grunting.

'MOMMY !! So now i have a poo!' Great. I've left the nappy bag in the car. Quickly de-latch Dan who is quite pissed off by this whole delatching thing and run with Caleb under my arm, to the car, grab the nappy bag, run back upstairs, inform the receptionist that i am now back....'i'm sorry but you've just missed your slot, i've put someone else in in front of you.' great. Change Caleb's nappy and then sit and wait some more. 14:00 comes....and goes.

EVENTUALLY at 14:25 Dr Botha comes out and says 'Master Caleb' and does his weird little giggle. I am ready to get cross and say something nasty and i can feel my blood boiling and i sit down at his desk and before i can open my mouth he says 'Do you mind i if i just sneak out for a piddle?' i can't say anything i just nod and he lets himself out of his office back door. He comes back in 10 minutes later and gives me this HUGE grin and says 'Hullo Master Caleb, how are you?' and then he starts talking to me and asking questions and is so completely interested in my little boys, like there are no other children on earth that matter, just my boys. And instantly, all my frustrations disappear and i realise what a fantastic doctor he is and why i really don't mind waiting for him because one day it might be one of my kids that he needs to spend 3 hours with in an emergency situation.

We spent about 45 minutes in his office, chatting about Dan and his eating habits and my lack of sleep and everything else i was concerned about. I left and i felt like i only waited for half an hour!

What an amazing man. And i know that when i next have to go and see him, i will feel exactly the same frustrations while i'm waiting and will leave completely satisfied and will forget about the wait.

The best things truely do come to those who wait.