Two Year Well Child
I still cannot wrap my head around Maddie being a two year old. I’ve blinked and she’s 3 feet tall. Maddie just had her two year well child visit with her primary care doctor and she measured at 34 inches long. So I exaggerated just a bit on her being 3 feet tall.
Since Nicole has been sick this past week, I had the pleasure of taking Maddie for her visit. Thank goodness I work for an employer who puts their employee’s families first. I was praying that Maddie didn’t get the medical assistant from the last time I took her to the doctor. If you missed that post just click here.
The medical assistant that we did have was phenomenal. She commented on Maddie’s hair and Maddie’s smile. This is actually pretty common out in public. Maddie’s curly locks are definitely an attention grabber for strangers. The doctor came in and checked Maddie over. He commented on how strong Maddie has gotten and how intentional her movements are becoming. To be honest her visit wasn’t that notable at all. It wasn’t notable except for one thing, so be prepared for a little bit of bragging.
After doing an examination of Maddie, the doctor sat down on a swivel stool. He made a little bit of small talk about where the referral was at for the clinic in North Carolina. Then he said, “You are both phenomenal parents.” I tend to get a little embarrassed when people say this to us. Then he went on. He talked about how he’s been so impressed with our knowledge of all of the little intricacies of Angelman Syndrome. For example, I made sure I spoke up about doing a check of Maddie’s spine. This is because children with Angelman Syndrome are more apt at developing scoliosis.
He explained to me that he sees parents of all sorts of children. Whether they are neurotypical or if they have special needs. He described some parents that just refuse to accept that their child is different. He explained that some parents of children with special needs don’t put in the work that is required to ensure their child will thrive. He explained that some parents just don’t quite get it, regardless of their economic status.
To be honest I had a little bit of a bounce in my step when I left Maddie’s appointment. Nicole and I put in the work to make sure our little one is living her best life. We’re by no means experts but we try to be Maddie’s advocates. It felt nice that someone who knows Maddie pretty well, can see the strides that she’s making. I just hope that at her next well child visit, Maddie impresses him again.
-Written by Adam Birchmeier
