doctor-of-the-house

for the past week, my two children were sick almost simultaneously. arianna was down with high fever and colds for three days followed by diarrhea, which we thought was viral.

in the morning as i left for work, i told roque,
"please take care of "ate" while mom is away.
you will be the doctor-of-the-house, ok?"

and he happily obliged,
"sure, mom! i will take care of ate."

he felt proud to be in charge.

when i got home, he reported to me,
"ate went to the toilet so many times today."

arianna was pooping eight times a day and not eating too well. and then roque started to have fever and colds. after four days and a stool exam, it turned out arianna's diarrhea was not viral and she had to take antibiotics for it.

so medicines, i bought for both children. they were a study in contrast as not surprisingly they always are. roque downed his syrup from the medicine cup, licked his lips as if it was an ice cream moustache. then he poured a bit of water to swirl the leftover medicine coating the cup, and slurped it with gusto. i guess it tasted good. arianna, however, prefers the capsule or tablet form. but this time, the size of this one scared her. needless to say, it was even more difficult with her expecting not to be able to swallow it, hyperventilating and crying in fear at the same time.

just then, her brother doctor-of-the-house, roque, muttered,
"c'mon ate, my eardrums are hurting!"
talk about being a caring, empathizing and supportive doctor
... tsk.... tsk.

so after what seemed to be endless waiting and coaxing,
she finally downed the tablet successfully.
and roque exclaimed, "good job, ate!"
well, at least he appreciated her efforts.

several things about being a good physician, among other things... availability, eagerness to help, impeccable monitoring, setting a good example, patience, empathy, reassurance, appreciation. five out of eight ain't bad for this doctor-of-the-house.