The Daddy Diary
Musings on Babies, Bulldogs, and Beer
Shots Anyone?
Sometimes you have to do something that makes a child cry even though it is good for them. That’s why I make Ella watch Dallas Cowboys’ playoff games with me. I’m getting her used to disappointment at an early age so it won’t hurt as much when she’s older. She will thank me someday.
The same principle applies when I give Audrey shots. It makes her cry, but I do it because it’s good for her. Maybe someday when she’s old enough, I’ll be on vacation with Audrey and I’ll buy her a shot of tequila. For now, the only shot I give her is by jamming a needle in her leg.
When Audrey came home from the hospital for the first time, she had to be put on a blood thinner. Every day for several months we had to squeeze her little thigh and inject Lovenox into her leg. It broke my heart the first time I gave her the shot. As soon as the needle went in, her lower lip swelled up and she started crying. I don’t know which hurt more, the first time I gave her the shot and she cried or the first time I gave her the shot and she didn’t cry. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be four months old and so used to being stuck with a needle that you don’t cry anymore.
Audrey is itty bitty, and unless you knew her story, you would never guess that she is four years old. Many kids with CHARGE Syndrome have this problem, so we knew that someday we would probably have to give her growth hormones. I just didn’t know that I would be the one doing the injections.
So, Michelle and I went to the pharmacist to get trained on how to give growth hormone shots. During the training, Michelle asked the pharmacist if we needed to apply a Band-Aid after the injection. The pharmacist said, “Oh, no. You won’t need to do that.”
She was wrong.
The first night, Audrey flinched during the injection, and of course, we drew blood. And, of course, Audrey cried during the injection. We have to hold the needle in her leg for ten seconds to complete the injection. Trust me, ten seconds is an eternity when your child is crying.
The second night, Audrey didn’t even flinch or cry during the injection. I, of course, did both.
After a few weeks of shots, she doesn’t always cry, but I know she doesn’t like the shot. As soon as I grab the alcohol swab, she starts covering her legs because she knows the shot is coming. Some nights when I am trying to hold her hands back to free a spot on her leg, I say to myself, “Maybe I can skip tonight. Surely missing one night won’t hurt her.” Then I suck it up, restrain her arms, and give her the shot.
While seeing her in pain is the worst part, it doesn’t help that we don’t know if these hormone injections are going to work. I hope I don’t have to explain to Audrey someday why we gave her shots every night and they didn’t work. I just hope she understands that I’m trying to do everything I can to give her the best life possible.
Even in this case with medical expertise on our side, I feel like parenting is one big crapshoot or an endless exercise in trial and error. Whether the issue is medical, emotional, or developmental, you just never know. What works for one kid doesn’t work for another. What worked today won’t work tomorrow. I’ve read at least half a dozen books on parenting, and I’ve found them to be about 20-30% effective. I just hope I figure out the other 70-80% without totally screwing up my children.
If the hormone therapy doesn’t work, she will just be a tiny person. The upside of that is she will always be ridiculously cute which has many advantages, but that is the topic for another blog post.
One Comment on “Shots Anyone?”
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The Daddy Diary 
Bless you and Michelle. Love you two and your girls so much! I feel for Audrey because I too take shots every day. I take several a day and honestly it never gets easier and I feel like a pin cushion. I’m sure right she doesn’t understand why and may never understand but just know you and Chell are doing the best you can and you are both awesome parents! Prayers for you all. Janice
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