Not a great way to start October

While we were in New York, Rachel injured her foot while running down a hill near Tia Daniella's house. She said it hurt at the time, and we put some ice on it for two days, then kind of forgot about it -- until she awoke in the middle of last week unable to walk; the foot hurt too much to bear weight.

So, Drew swung into action. (I had an appointment for pain in my right knee, and I ended up not being able to see a doctor because I needed a referral from my primary-care doctor, which no one bothered to tell me until I had already tried to get in to see and orthopedist). He got Rachel an appointment with her pediatrician, who took an X-ray, found nothing wrong and...sent her home. Even though she was still in pain. Because it wasn't, you know, their responsibility.

Frustrated, Drew made an appointment with an orthopedist because it turns out that you can't just go out and buy crutches for a 6-year-old; they have to be custom fitted. The orthopedist was in Herndon, a fair ways away. He ended up taking one day off work because he had to sit with Rachel, and then the next day they went to the orthopedist.

No one at the pediatrician's office bothered to tell us we needed an actual referral form. (We were with Kaiser Permanente for 15 years in Oregon, where everything was in one building and there was none of this nonsense of referral forms; you just went to a different office and everything was there). Drew had to asked them THREE TIMES to fax over the form. They originally told him that he had to fill out the form online, and then he might have to wait 5 days for a referral, by which point I was so mad that I thought, hell, I'll just take her in to the damn hospital, but Drew "got East Coast with them" and made them fax it to the orthopedist. What if this had been an emergency?? he demanded of the pediatrician staff, and he never got a satisfactory answer).

So, the visit to the orthopedist was much more pleasant because, Drew said, they knew what the hell they were doing. They agreed that Rachel hadn't broken anything, but that based on the fact that she couldn't stand to have anyone touch her lower leg, she probably pulled a ligament, poor thing. So now she is outfitted with crutches, (or "crunches," according to her friend Sidney); a thick boot to wear at all times except while she's sleeping, and a doctor's note excusing her from P.E. We have cancelled gymnastics and tennis for the next few weeks.