Friday, September 24, 2004

More visits to the nurse

Lillianna has been to the school nurse several times this year and she has only been in school 4 weeks. Last year her visits were mostly for wiggly teeth and Mrs. A would take a look at the hanging tooth and offer to pull it. Lillianna always declined. I think she went for reassurance.

A few times last year she went because she "didn't feel right". Once it was due to eating fruit and milk at lunch. It just didn't agree with her. A trip to the bathroom at home fixed the problem. When I hear the reasons she is running to the nurse, sometimes I worry about her. She doesn't seem to complain as much at home. I am a very compassionate mother so I don't think she is looking for the attention in school that she doesn't get at home. She gets all our attention. She is our only child!

The other day Mrs. A called because Lillianna fell off the bars at recess. That, at least, was a good reason for going. This morning Rich told me that Lillianna went to the nurse again yesterday. I was stunned. "For what, now?" I asked. Rich said,"To loosen her ponytail elastic."
I almost fell over. I saved this discussion for the drive to school. Lillianna explained she went to the nurse for a headache and Mrs. A loosened her pony tail and she felt better! It was a miracle! It reminded me of all those bad "Mommy Mommy my ponytails are too tight" jokes from my childhood. Couldn't her teacher have loosened the elastic? Did it really require a trip to the nurse.....again?

I gave Lillianna a speech about The Boy Who Cried Wolf,Hypochondria and Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome. I threw the last one in just because the chat on hypochondria reminded me of it. Basically I tried to focus on the boy and wolf story so that if she actually has a medical problem she will be taken seriously. I ended it by saying, "Because after a while your teacher may not believe you and what if you are really sick and you throw up in class?" Lillianna didn't miss a beat when she anwered, "Well if I do throw up in class, I hope it's on a boy."
I think I got my point across......didn't I?


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