Success - and a Sigh of Relief!

We went up to Rock Hill yesterday to see the surgeon I mentioned in my last post (we thought that since my mom knew this doctor it would be better than gambling with picking one randomly from telephone phone book here). It was a long afternoon and evening, but Aimee is now finally free of that staple. The surgeon and the nurses were so incredibly patient and gentle that it was a remarkably better experience than any of the three times we went to the urgent care place here. After looking at the staple (which had been turned sideways and thus embedded deeper into Aimee's scalp, curtesey of the first removal attempt - grrrr!), the surgeon recommended applying a topcial numbing cream which had to sit for an hour, then injecting lidocaine so that Aimee would be completely pain-free, and while this whole process took over four hours altogether, it worked! Aimee became very upset when it came time to use the needle, which she insisted on being shown, and she was extremely wary of anyone working behind her, but the doctor was very kind but very firm as he explained what had to be done and what was required of her. My mom, who was especially adamant about not having Aimee held down (bless her!), held Aimee's hands and counted with her to calm her down, and finally Aimee agreed to sit still. She barely felt the shot, and when the procedure began to hurt because of all the work it was taking to get that thing out, she consented to another shot without any fuss at all. Aimee and I talked about everything at bedtime, and we agreed that this procedure went so much better because she was able to trust the surgeon. He was very honest with her (no comments like, "You won't feel anything," or "I'm just looking...", followed by the staple remover), and he never did anything without telling her first. I appreciate this kind of respect, too, and it's a shame that many people feel they can blow children off because it's more convenient. Of course, in this case, if the doctors had respected Aimee's feelings in the first place and had taken the time to work with her, they could have avoided a good deal of trouble. (I wish that I, too, had been a better advocate for my child at the start and not simply assumed that those people were professionals and were doing all they could. Don't I know better?!?!) As it is, we are going to press them very hard for some reimbursement here. They are, predictably, not being very cooperative, and have so far blamed everyone from Aimee to my mom to me, even, for having the baby with me the first time I brought Aimee in. But the saga is over for Aimee anyway - hooray!