Dermatologist Appointment

Keziah had her yearly dermatologist appointment today back at Toronto Sick Kids. She goes in every year as they like to keep an eye on her freckle, taking pictures and noting any changes (darkening, thickening, bumps etc.). I didn't tell her we were going until the day of. Last time, when we went back in September, I told her a few days ahead, which resulted in some anxious moments at night (bed wetting). This time, because her appointment was later in the morning (11 o'clock), I knew I would have time to tell her that morning.

Because her appointment was at 11 that meant no traffic jams (by no traffic jams, I mean that I didn't stop once until I hit Islington. That's pretty good!! And then it was stop and go all the way to the hospital).

She was pretty excited to go......until we ran into this thing:

These statues were everywhere in the hospital, with two on either side of the entrance doors. She would NOT go in because of them. And having learned my lesson from the witch incident (find this story at the end of a post on my other blog), I did not try to convince her they wouldn't move :o) I just picked her up and carried her into the hospital.

The waiting wasn't too long, giving her a little time to colour and to play.

Once in, the dermatologist had a look at her freckle; of what's left of it anyway. They were very impressed with the work that was done on her face. They had last year's picture from our appointment and couldn't believe the changes!! Using a special light and magnifying glass, they inspected what was left and other than it being quite dry, which is common for having a congenital meloncytic nevus, it all looked great!!

For the scars, she gave me this to use:

Have any of you heard or used this before on any scars? She just gave us samples for now. I am just wondering if it's worth purchasing....

Because having CMN also can mean having satellites (smaller moles), we checked the rest of Keziah's body to see if any have popped up. Satellites can pop up anywhere and at any time. I know of some that have 100s to 1000s of satellites, whereas others don't have any at all. Some of these satellites can be large and others quite small.

When born, Keziah was checked over and there were a few spots, but they were really light. I have noticed over the past year or so, more spots popping up. She has quite a few on her legs now. They are quite light in colour, but I have also noticed that a few of them have that dark coarse hair coming out of them. The dermatologist did not think they were satellites, but we will need to keep an eye on them. So far there are about 6 or 7 on her right leg and almost 10 on her left leg.

(Chant with me: I will not be jealous over her gorgeous skin colour, I will not be jealous over her gorgeous skin colour, I will not be.......)

And so we go back in a year to have these all looked at again. For now, I've documented them and will keep an eye on them (and for others) until then.

Once her appointment was over, we enjoyed a bagel and timbits together. Correct me if I am wrong but I think she liked the cream cheese :o)

And then it was time to go home!! Going to the hospital continues to be a tiring affair for her!

Happy to be home!

And so am I. Going to the hosptial is draining in many ways. It takes up a good chunk of your day (gone from 9:30-2:00), dealing with traffic and whatnot. But the most draining part of it all is keeping my mother bear reactions down to a minimum. You would think that walking through a hospital, a children's hosptial no less, people would be more sensitive to the fact that you are going to see things that are "different". I actually find the hospital to be one of the worse places for her to be stared at!! What gives?? I don't get it. And it's not just "oh, she has something on her face" kind of staring. It is the "oh my! The poor girl. What in the world is on her face? Maybe if I stare longer and harder I'll figure it out" kind of staring. Yes, it is very hard to deal with and so I do not enjoy going. At all.

Education is huge! Hopefully this blog has helped in that regard. Once educated, the need is less to stare. And that goes for all things, conditions, differences, what have you. And may we all recognize the Creator of us all, the One who NEVER makes a mistake.