By Jillian Villemaire
As Im sure many heart parents experience, I find myself anxious leading up to our six-month cardiology follow-ups. I get worried about what the doctors will say and what the next steps will be. I am a mother of two young boys, and my 4-year-old has a congenital heart defect. We are in a waiting period for a pacemaker. He meets some of the criteria but not all of them, so for now we wait. With this waiting period, we see the doctor every six months and do Holter monitors and Echos on intervals.
When my son was a baby, I was worried enough for us both. Now that hes a little older, I see that he is worried, too. Through my experience, I have found that by preparing him and explaining what will happen when we visit the doctor, it eases his fears and makes our appointments more pleasant. So much of the angst of visiting the doctor was fear and not because the appointment was painful in any way. I was searching for a childrens book that would explain what our visit would be like and was unable to find one. If anyone has suggestions for how to get a childrens book like this published please let me know!
For parents who are just entering this phase, my best suggestion is to explain the step-by-step process on the day of the appointment. For us, we travel to the childrens hospital, so there are a lot of steps. Our appointments always start by checking in and waiting in the waiting room. There is often a movie playing and some toys. I always bring a new book or something else as a distraction. Once checked in, my sons height and weight are checked. Then, we go into the exam room. The nurse comes in and does an EKG. We call the sensors stickers, and it always creates a commotion to get set up. Again, this does not hurt him, he just gets nervous when the nurse comes in.
Once the stickers are done, the nurse leaves and another nurse or physicians assistant comes in. They usually ask questions about any changes and talk about any additional tests. If this is an Echo visit for us, we then go and do that. The Echo room has a TV and at least a few options for entertainment. I also have videos on my phone that we watch sometimes. I usually lay down with him during the test. Then, we go back to the room and wait for the doctor. The doctor comes in and asks questions, she listens to his heart, and we talk about any concerns. The doctor discusses next steps and when we should come back, and then we are done.
I know our experiences are not the same as everyones. I have found this helps my son calmly get through his appointments. I hope it helps you, too.
Jillian Villemaire is a mom, wife and full-time educator. Shes also an organized problem solver, just trying to figure it all out.
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