A Day at the Doctor

by Jonathan Jewett
Illustrations by Hayes Roberts

 

 Cambria woke up one morning with a little cough. When she swallowed, her throat hurt and she felt tired.

Every day she would jump out of bed, open her curtains and get dressed, but today she didn’t even want to get out from under her warm blankets.  She just felt like closing her eyes and going back to sleep.

 Her Mommy promptly put a thermometer under her tongue.  It tasted yucky – kind of like a penny – and it felt strange rolling around in her mouth.

“You have a fever,” Mommy told her. “You can stay home from school today.”

 Cambria had never stayed home from school before.  “What do I do at home all day?” she wondered.

“You stay in bed and rest,” Mommy told her.  “I’ll bring in some books and the TV to watch.  You can have some extra pillows to make you comfortable too.  I’ll make you a little toast to eat, and some chicken soup and crackers later.”

 Bianca jumped up onto her bed and snuggled right in beside her.  “Bianca will stay with me today,” said Cambria, giving Bianca’s tummy a good scratch.

“Bianca usually isn’t supposed to be on your bed, but today it’s OK,” said Mommy.

 Cambria sat back in the bed and her eyes felt heavy.  I’ll just rest them for a minute, she thought.

The next thing she knew, Mommy was coming into her bedroom with a tray.  There was orange juice, buttered toast and a little bowl full of blueberries.

“I fell asleep,” said Cambria.

“That’s good,” Mommy said.  “You need to rest up today.  I think you probably caught the cold that your friend Beth had last week.  I told you not to drink from the same juice box as Beth.”

 Cambria felt a little guilty, because she and Beth did that all the time.  Beth had been out of school sick for almost the whole week.  Cambria was very glad when Beth finally came back to school.  They were best friends and shared everything, including juice boxes.

“I called the doctor, and he wants us to come down later today,” said Mommy, putting the tray down on Cambria’s lap and helping her to sit up.  “You need to eat your breakfast and get dressed because you have an 11 o’clock appointment with the doctor.”

“I don’t like going to the doctor.  The last time I went, he gave me a shot in my arm.”  Cambria bit into her toast even though she didn’t feeling much like eating.

It was delicious, of course – Mommy made the best buttered toast in the world, with just a little cinnamon sprinkled on top.  Cambria let Bianca lick a little butter off of her thumb.

“You’re not going to get a shot today.  The Doctor will just listen to you breathe, look at your ears and maybe ask you to say AHHHHH to look at your throat.  It won’t be bad at all.”

 Mommy turned to leave.  “I’ll be back in 20 minutes to help you get dressed and get ready.”

Later that day, Cambria and her Mommy arrived at the doctor’s office.  The person behind the desk was very nice, and she smiled at Cambria.  “Not feeling well today?” she asked.

“No,” said Cambria.  “I guess I’m sick.  I didn’t have to go to school today.  My Mommy is going to make me soup with crackers, and Bianca was allowed to sleep on my bed.”

“My,” said the nurse, “that certainly is alot of information. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of you here.  Please sit down and I’ll let you know when it’s time for you to see the doctor.”

 Cambria felt a little better as she and Mommy found two seats together.  She had brought a book along to read, and saw a couple of other kids about her age in the waiting room.  They looked just like she did – a little sniffly and a little scared.

 Mommy gave her a pat on the leg.  “Read your book, we won’t have long to wait.”

A nurse wearing purple came out of a door.  “Cambria?” she called out.

 Cambria stood up, feeling a little scared.  She and her Mommy followed the nurse down a long hallway.  The nurse weighed her and checked her height.  “Just right,” the nurse smiled.

The nurse brought Cambria and her Mommy into a little room.  “I have to take your temperature,” the nurse told Cambria, and put a white thermometer under Cambria’s tongue.  “Oh no,” thought Cambria, because this thermometer tasted like a penny too, just like the one at home.

The thermometer made a little beep, and the nurse pulled it out and looked at it.  “A bit high,” she said, “but I think you’ll be OK.  The doctor will be right in, and he’ll take care of you.  Don’t you worry about a thing.”

The nurse left just as Dr. Robinson was walking in.  He had a big smile and was wearing a tie with Bugs Bunny on it.  Cambria liked Bugs Bunny.

“Hello Cambria,” said Dr. Robinson.  “What seems to be the problem today?”

“I’m not feeling well,” said Cambria. “I didn’t have to go to school today.  My Mommy is going to make me soup with crackers, and Bianca was allowed to sleep on my bed.  I shared my juice box with Beth.”

“I see,” he said.  “Thank you, that certainly is alot of information.”

Dr. Robinson asked Cambria to look up at the ceiling while he shined a little light in her eyes.  Then he listened to her heart.  “Sounds great,” he said.

Dr. Robinson took three wooden sticks out of a jar. “I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “I’ll give you these two drumsticks to keep if you let me look in your mouth. OK?”

“OK,” said Cambria, taking the sticks and forgetting for a minute that she didn’t feel well.

“AHHHHHHH.”  The doctor put the stick on her tongue and Cambria did her best to give him a big ‘Ahhhhhh’.

“I think you just have a little cold,” said Dr. Robinson.  “Go home, rest in your bed, drink some juice and you should be feeling better tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” said Cambria shyly.  “And thank you for the drumsticks.”

“You’re welcome,” said Dr. Robinson.  “Bye-bye Cambria.  You can come see me anytime, but I hope you stay healthy and won’t have to.”

As Cambria and her Mommy walked out the car, Cambria said, “I liked the doctor.  He didn’t give me a shot and I liked his tie.”

 Her Mommy laughed.  “The doctor is here to help you, not just give you shots.  I liked his tie too.”

When they came home, Mommy made Cambria nice and comfortable on the couch with two big puffy pillows and her favorite blue blanket.  Mommy even let Bianca sit up on the couch with her.  Bianca wasn’t supposed to sit on the couch, but Mommy said it was OK for today.

She brought Cambria some chicken soup like she promised, and it was delicious.  By the time her Daddy came home, Cambria was feeling a little better and a little more sleepy.

But she wasn’t too sleepy to let her Daddy read her two Curious George stories.  He tucked Cambria into her bed and gave her a kiss.

“Daddy,” said Cambria, feeling sleepy, “I think I want to get better and go back to school tomorrow.”

“You know what,” Daddy said, “I think you will feel better tomorrow.”

And when she work up the next morning, Cambria found that her Daddy was exactly right!