When the doctor's kid is sick!

As I was standing in front of an open freezer door, with my croupy 4-year old in my arms last night around 1am, I realized what an interesting position it was to be in.  Although standing and staring at the frozen bag of edamame on the middle shelf of our freezer may seem like a bizarre thing to do in the middle of the night with a sick toddler, that's not actually what I'm referring to when I say that I felt like I was in an odd position! (Tip - cold freezer air is great for calming down airway distress from croup!)  What I realized, is that I tend to glide through my days, dishing out advice, prescriptions, and treatments, for a variety of childhood illnesses, and only when one of my own children gets sick, does it really hit home about how distressing it is for parents to see their children suffering.  I've always said that having children of my own, drastically changed how I practiced as a pediatrician, and last night was a reminder of how and why that still rings true for me.  Being awakened by a coughing, "barking" child, who's panicked because she feels like she can't breathe, trying desperately to calm her while inside I'm also trying to calm myself, feeling overjoyed when the noisy stridor begins to subside and a hint of a smile returns to her face, and making it ok to turn on an episode of Oobi (possibly one of the strangest shows on Nick Jr., but for some reason beloved by small children) at 2am, just to distract your child a little...all of these things add up, for me, to one big thing:  Understanding.  Understanding that when our kids are sick, the world seems to temporarily slow down.  Understanding that when our kids are sick, it takes superhuman parent strength to respond with calm, controlled action instead of worry and panic.  Understanding that parents will do just about anything on the planet to make their children feel better.  Understanding that when it's my child that's sick, it's the most important thing at that moment, and that's no less true for every other parent out there.  Understanding that having a sick child throws a wrench into the whole family's schedule, plans, expectations.  An understanding that I just don't think I'd have, if croup didn't occasionally come knocking on my own family's door from time to time at 1am!