THERAPEUTIC DINOSAURS

‘Due to flu and covid season, there may be longer than usual wait times…’, I read the text as we sat in the car after we parked. There was only one other car in our vicinity. It was early. It was cold.

‘What’s the point of an appointment’, I looked over to my son who looked miserable and tired. Tired from all the coughing for the past two days and nights. He stayed home yesterday after getting dressed and waiting for me outside the door, not really wanting to go to school. After a coughing fit caused him to spit up, I decided he would stay home with me. It was my day to work from home.

This morning he didn’t make it to getting dressed before the decision was made to take him to the doctor. His coughing was worse, not better. I texted work to let them know my son was sick and that I was on my way to take him to see the doctor.

The drive took longer than I’d realised. Not helping was having to drive a bit slower due to the shaking of my car. The never-ending car issues. Three minutes after the text letting us know we needed to wait, we got another text stating they were ready for us. After my son was weighed and his temperature was taken, we were taken into a room to wait for the doctor.

As we entered the room, the large wall mural to our left captured our attention. Dinosaurs everywhere. Large dinosaurs walking in a busy marketplace, interacting with humans. A small, blue stuffed dinosaur held by a little girl in one hand whilst holding a basket of flowers in the other. A small ‘live’ dinosaur following a boy pushing along a metal ring with a stick. To the left of the boy was another larger dinosaur holding a bouquet of flowers he bought from a human. Or perhaps it was the other way around. So many colours, patterns, and stories in just one mural.

Therapeutic dinosaurs. Meant to distract children from their illnesses, if only for a brief while. My son was still coughing, but I noticed he was as mesmerised as I was with the dinosaurs. Perhaps I was a bit more mesmerised.

The doctor came in after a few minutes and went through the usual questions and tests. She determined he developed a sinus infection and prescribed him an antibiotic which he would need to take for five days. As we made our way out the door, we stopped by the front office to get a doctor’s note. My son would have to miss another day of school. I’m sure I saw a smile come across his face as I mentioned this to him.

Before driving home, we stopped by HEB to pick up his prescription. It took about 15 minutes until it was ready. In the meantime, we wandered around the store and found a few things of interest. Once home, my son took his one and a half pills before crawling under his duvet and sleeping away the cough. I was happy to see that he was able to sleep for a few hours before waking up and worrying about his schoolwork. He started working on the new assignments in the early afternoon and was able to complete all of them.

There will be times in life when we need a distraction, if only for a brief while, to help us make it through a difficult time. Sometimes it’s watching a movie or reading a book. Other times it might be exchanging texts with a friend. Or perhaps it is a mural of interesting dinosaurs which challenge our imagination.