No one is perfect...

I realize no one is perfect, we are all human, and therefore we are all prone to make mistakes...I just hate when a mistake is made at the expense of my child.

I was off work on Friday to take Baby L to the doctor. He was due for a check up and shots. We went in to GPC (General Pediatric Clinic) at ACH (Arkansas Children's Hospital, and were directed to the "well" waiting room. We waited for way longer than usual, they typically call up back with in 10 minutes of our arrival, but at 45 min after our scheduled appointment time we were just being called over to be 'triage'; I understood the slower than usual service though, most doctors offices in the area are seeing up to 3 times their normal number of patients in a day because of all the crud going around . Once we were taken to a room the doctor came in very quickly, and we talked he looked L over and did his exam. Things were all going fine, and he said he was going to tell the nurse to come on in and give him his shots. I had called ahead and let them know that I wanted him to get his Flu Shot as well while we were in. The nurse arrived and I asked if I could step out quickly to go to the restroom, she said of course and asked if I wanted her to do the shots while I was out....though tempted, I said no, I wanted to be there to comfort him after it was over and he was upset. So I stepped out and was back in just a moment, when I opened the door, she had L scooped up in her arms, and looked nervous...she asked if he has asthma; I told her no. She asked if he ever takes albuteral, I said yes, when he is wheezy; she darted out and down the hall into the nurses station. I had no idea what to think...I stood at the door to our room and waited, a moment later she went darting back down the hall past me, to the doctor, she positioned herself so her back was towards me and I couldn't see what she was saying to the doc. A moment later she came back and I immediately asked her what was wrong. She said she had made a mistake, and given L the wrong Flu vaccine. She had given him the Flu Mist, rather than the Flu Shot.

The Flu Mist contains live strains of the virus in it, and is not approved for children under 2 years old, L is 8 months. The doctor followed her in and shut the door, they explained the difference between the two vaccines, and let me ask any questions I might have. All I really wanted to know was did I need to look for/expect the same side effects? They said yes, and that he would likely be fine, come back if he showed any adverse reactions.

The nurse finished up giving him his shots, he wailed and screamed and made a real show of getting his shots. The nurse kept apologizing for the mistake, she looked like she was about to cry herself. I continually reassured her that it was not a big deal, and that we are all human and we all make mistakes. She seemed to feel a little better since I wasn't angry with her, but was still bothered by her error.

L and I left a few minutes later and I called mom to tell her about the incident (and to calm myself down, honestly my heart was racing, not because of the vaccine mix-up, but because of the nurses behavior about it before i was told what was going on). Mom said it was probably not a big deal, except that since the mist contains live virus L was very likely goon to get sick for the next 48 hours. Joy.in my arms, or snuggled up next to me in my bed, because he hasn't been wanting to be left alone in his crib, but sleep has been a great reprieve from his sickly demeanor.

And ill he has been. Ill tempered, discontent, snotty, fussy, and overall a real bear. But thank goodness he has slept a lot. Granted he has done most of his sleeping

He has seemed better this morning. He was good at church in the nursery, and he didn't nap all morning, but is resting right now, in his own bed. Hopefully this is him getting back to himself.

Like I said, I know no one is perfect, and we all make mistakes, I just hate that the mistake was at Baby L's expense.