Hello Doctor!

With a few days left for our return to India, I had set up an appointment with Abhay’s pediatrician for a final follow up on his vaccinations and all other things that he is either sensitive to or intolerant towards. When he first came to the US, Abhay was as adaptable as any Indian can be, but three years later, he leaves the US as a quintessential American bred kid allergic to dust and grass pollen and lactose intolerant!  What a fuss….really! I only wish he soon recovers his Indian thick skin to handle the toughest of the tough back home in India!

Anyway, Abhay is always petrified of going to the doctor and believes he is the only one in the world subject to immunization shots. Sure enough this time he screamed his loudest when the nurse held his arm for a prick. His acrimonious protests made it virtually impossible for me to handle him all   by myself and I had to have husband come in for back up! So today when I had him read “Hello Doctor” by David F Marx and illustrated by Mark A Hicks, a Level A Rookie Reader, I realised that I should have got this book earlier and it would have made our doctor's visit a lot more peaceful!  On a routine check up, a little boy is all excited to see his doctor and does as he is told – opens his mouth to say “Ahhh”, blows hard as the doctor checks his lungs, bends down and kicks for the doctor to check his reflexes. But as the doctor gets ready to inject the immunization shots, he gets scared and wonders if he can go through with it. But before he feels a pinch, it’s over and he realizes another thing – that he has indeed been a brave boy! Hopefully, when Abhay sees his doctor the next time, instead of howling, he’ll say “Hello Doctor”!