Birthday Fails

There is a buzz in our home this week as we prepare for our final family birthday celebration of the year.  Our baby boy turns six on Thursday and he, more than anyone else, is giddy with excitement. 


I, on the other hand, am much more apprehensive this year.  Our poor kid has had some pretty rough birthdays in the past few years and I'm just hoping this year will end the curse of bummer birthdays for my sweet boy.


Birthday 2009, we celebrated early with a big party at Chuck E Cheese, which I think was more of a bummer for me, just 3 weeks out from giving birth to our youngest.  On Daniel's actual birthday, I arranged to take him to his very first movie.  I had planned to have a family celebration that evening, but when we got home from the theater, everything changed.  Isaiah, who was only 23 days old, had been having trouble keeping his formula down.  It had lasted for a good week and we were under the impression his sensitive stomach just needed a gentler kind.  But that day, I decided to call the doctor to ask a few questions and was told, under no uncertain circumstances, to immediately take him to the emergency room at Phoenix Children's Hospital.  Panic set in and we were in motion.  Hours into the process, I realized our poor birthday boy wasn't having his celebration that evening.  Isaiah was admitted, we spent a restless night at the hospital, and handed our newborn over for surgery the next day. 


Birthday 2010-  On the heals of the previous birthday debaucle, we wanted to avoid any disappointments (and medical emergencies, I might add).  Daniel was turning 5 and starting kindergarten shortly thereafter.  This birthday was a big deal!  For months we planned and made arrangements to surprise him with a trip to Disneyland.  When the day came, his grandparents came for cake and presents.  The next morning, we woke him up and told him we were going on a trip.  He had no idea where, but being alone with Mom and Dad kept him from caring.  We arrived at the hotel and showed him Disneyland through the window.  He was ecstatic!  This was going to be a birthday to remember!  Was it ever......
Moments, and I mean MOMENTS later, we found a couple of red spots on his arm and one on his cheek.  Thinking he had been bit by a mosquito, we continued on with our plans.  Dinner in Downtown Disney, shopping at the Disney Store, and endless hours of jumping on the bed.  But the morning light dawned on another birthday disaster.  Daniel's face, arms, and legs were covered with red welts.  Before breakfast we were headed to an Urgent Care to get hims some cream and an antibiotic for what I was convinced was Fifth disease.  To understand the level of misery of this particular occasion, one has to be familiar with Daniel's extreme phobia of doctors.  The mere mention of the phrase "doctor's office" had sent him into a sheer panic, not to mention the fact that the doctor visit was now in liew of Disneyland itself.  We arrived at the urgent care only to find out that he was having a serious allergic reaction and a shot of antihistamine was the only alternative.  We had officially entered the ninth circle of Daniel's own personal hell. We pinned a screaming, panic-stricken, 5 year old to the table, and the nurse administered the injection.  Ten minutes later we were in the car and headed to "The Happiest Place On Earth" in complete silence.


I face this week with trepidation and hope that we can manage to avoid illness and all contact with medical professionals.