Windows

Monday through Friday I have a relatively small window of opportunity to write. It is after I drop the boys off at school and before I go off to my outside-the-home job. I almost always love this window. It offers beautiful views of vivid locations in my mind, lets in characters I’ve created and come to love (sometimes even hate a little), and allows me to breathe in story lines that keep me engaged as a writer.

Except when something comes up. Like…phone calls or issues with medical supply companies or the incident that cropped up today with Zane’s ENT.

That’s when the window slams shut on my creativity, and I transition into advocate mode. Let me tell you, writer-me and advocate-me are incompatible. They don’t feed each other’s strengths. Not in the least. When advocate-me emerges, writer-me shuts down. Completely.

Zane’s ABR was canceled on March 10^th due to illness. It was rescheduled for today. But some information came to light last Friday about this sedated ABR—mainly the fact that he wasn’t scheduled for an ABR at all. His ENT and staff referred to it as a BAER (which I’ve found out is essentially the same thing as an ABR).

Side note: ABR=auditory brainstem response test involves connecting electrodes to the head (usually under sedation) to measure hearing.

But apparently, a BAER study was not enough for the ENT. On his schedule: making incisions in Zane’s ears, placing tubes in them, and draining fluid. That is so not what I want. That is so not what he needs. Plus, that was never even discussed during consultation. Now I know this is the legal side of my mind blurting out these words, but what about INFORMED CONSENT? My paralegal mind cuts all sorts of pathways over that one.

In hindsight, Zane's sickness turned out to be auspicious. Because if Zane hadn’t gotten sick and I hadn’t canceled his “ABR” and the surgery center hadn’t asked for cardiology clearance as an after-thought and he hadn't started running a low-grade fever on Friday, the procedure would have happened (without informed consent).

Thankfully, I spent the day investigating and had some wonderful people assist me in discovering that the ABR/BAER does not entail cutting, that Phoenix Children’s audiology department will gladly do an ABR without incisions or tubes, and that we are now transitioning to a new audiologist who will be forthcoming and do what I want.

Though I spent the better part of my day (minus my outside-the-home job hours) addressing these issues, they are now resolved. And hopefully that creative window will open back up again tomorrow.