Last week on Thursday Owen woke up with a sore neck. It wasn't just a minor complaint -- he couldn't move his head at all and ended up staying in bed and home from school. Very unusual. He had no fever, no other symptoms and by the end of the day was playing normally, albeit while holding his head as if he got a nerve pinch.
I suggested seeing the doctor, but Owen was terrified of going and the more I tried to convince him that the doctor could help, the more he became tense and stressed out and the whole thing ended up seeming more traumatic than it was worth. Despite our concerns, Paul and I just kept an eye on it. It get better and better and after a few days (this Tuesday) he wasn't holding his neck funny anymore and didn't complain of any pain and seemed totally cured.
Then, this morning Owen woke up with the neck pain again. It's very worrisome, because I can't figure out what is wrong, and the thought of taking him to the Doctor seems overwhelming because I know it will be punctuated by pleas, tears and whimpers...... but what 4 year old pinches their neck in the same spot in the same week? It just doesn't make sense. I'm so worried about him, I can't imagine what it could be (well, I can imagine and that's what worries me).
Anyway, while he was in school this morning I made an appointment for him for this afternoon. I will pick him up after school and then I'll have to convince him to go peacefully so the doctor can help him. Wish me luck.
For some reason, I keep thinking about the old folk tale of the chalk circle. Two women are fighting over a child -- each claiming to be the true mother. A judge orders the child to stand in the middle of a chalk circle and the two "mothers" must try to pull him out. One mother pulls the child out of the circle, and thinks she has won, but the judge sees that the true mother is the one who let the child go, not the one who wouldn't let go....
I feel like I'm faced with two evils here... let him suffer in pain from the mystery sore neck, or make him suffer in emotional pain from a traumatic visit to the doctor...... either way I'm hurting him.
2 comments:
I, too, have been concerned and have been praying for Owen. I will be so very interested to know the doctor's evaluation, and I will keep praying for him. I am hoping so much that you were able to reason this out with him, and that he finally agreed to go peacefully and bravely. Paul, by-the -way, suffered a dread of going to the doctor. It often took some very creative convincing to make him comfortable with the idea. He saw through all my arguments. GG
How do you feel about chiro? Get him cleared for the big scary things like meningitis (which is what I'm betting has you most freaked) but he might just need an adjustment. I know a great one who has done extensive work with children and uses really gentle techniques so email me if you decide to go in that direction.
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