With cold and flu season only a few short weeks away, I wanted to share with my fellow Moms (and non-moms) out there my incredible new discovery – let me introduce to you Doctor On Demand. But, perhaps I should start with a little back story…
When we moved to Texas, Knox was almost 10 months old and had never been sick. A month after we moved, Knox and I headed back to NYC for NYFW, and I had my first real scare as a Mom. Knox’s fever jumped to 104 and I spent more time at the doctor and emergency room than I did at actual Fashion Week. We were lucky this trip because we still had a care provider in the city, since we had just moved, but this was only the beginning of Knox getting sick while traveling.
A few short weeks later, we were heading to my grandfather’s 90th birthday celebration, but guess what happened. Yep, Knox got sick again. Fast forward one month to November and we (unfortunately) had my grandmother’s funeral to attend and FMK had to take Knox to convenient care for fever and an ear infection while I was spending time with family. You may also remember our summer family vacation in Mexico when Knox got the croup. (That now passes our New York emergency room visit for the scariest moment as a mom.) I am leaving out a few trips to my parents house when Knox got sick (including a more recent trip where I was in NYC and Knox got Hand Foot and Mouth) because I think you get the picture here. My point is, we are cursed when it comes to traveling and Knox coming down with something.
I wasn’t armed with the knowledge I have now about Doctor On Demand in these stories I shared above, but because I know the approaching holidays mean travel for many of you – I want you to go into travel season with the same peace of mind I now have when being away from your main health care provider. I recently discover Doctor On Demand, the latest innovation in health care founded by non other than Dr. Phil.
Doctor On Demand is a healthcare service that provides video visits with board certified physicians, doctorate-level psychologists and lactation consultants — all from your smartphone or computer. It is the leading video medicine provider with the highest rated app of its kind. When you need to see a doctor, you’re connected with a board certified physician licensed in your state. The typical wait time to be connected is just 90 seconds, which definitely beats the long wait times in urgent care or the emergency room. The physicians can diagnose, treat and prescribe medications, if needed, for 18 of the top 20 conditions that are typically treated in urgent care, and they certainly could’ve helped with Knox’s past illnesses.
As we enter cold & flu season, you should pay most attention to your little one’s cough, because a cough could actually be associated with over 90 medical conditions and is actually the most frequent reason for a visit to the doctor. Take special care because it’s important to have a cough diagnosed by a physician since this is something you really can’t self-diagnose, and Doctor On Demand such an easy way to figure out what your kids’, or your own cough means.
I love this service for the most obvious reason: convenience. But, think about the other great benefits, as well. Not exposing yourself or your child to other germs at the doctor’s office, the instant answers instead of worrying and agonizing until you can get an appointment with your provider, and. of course, always having a health care professional at your fingertips (even when you are out of your home state or country).
Although staying in bed and getting sick cuddles can bring some cherished down time with your little ones, I am wishing you all a healthy holiday and cold & flu season. However, if you do find yourself under the weather (at home or away), I hope you get a lot of sweet cuddle time.
Our friends at Doctor On Demand have shared this code: HOUSEOFHARPER so that you can schedule your first Video Visit for free! If you try it out this cold & flu season , let us know about your experience in the comments! I hope you find this new tool as empowering as I have!
Photographed by Kate Robinson
Update: I had this post written on Friday and scheduled to go live Monday morning so I wouldn’t have to work over the weekend. FMK and I had a fun and relaxing little staycation / babymoon planned for the weekend and we sent Knox to my parents house for a fun weekend of his own. I called to Skype with Knox on Saturday morning and my parents told me how they had been at the park sliding down the slide with Knox. They said my dad went down with him and when they reached the bottom he cried complaining of pain in his leg. Since the accident, he wouldn’t put any weight on it to walk or stand. It all happened so fast, my dad wasn’t exactly sure what happened or where he could be hurting (ankle, knee, shin?). Knox is a pretty tough kid and usually shakes things off relatively fast so I was a little concerned, but hopeful that it was probably nothing. Wanting to be better safe than sorry, I immediately told them about Doctors on Demand and I got online and scheduled an appointment for my parents and Knox to check in with the doctor, ask for any warning signs they should be aware of, etc. Less than an hour later, they called me back…
The Doctor they spoke with told them about a common injury in toddlers called a Toddler’s Fracture and said the symptoms could be nothing more than the child wouldn’t put weight on the leg, like Knox was doing. The doctor suggested they take Knox to get an x-ray to rule out any breaks or fractures even though there wasn’t any visible bruising or swelling. Well, a few hours and one x-ray later, it was confirmed that Knox had fractured his tibia, just like the Doctor on Demand physician was worried about. (He got a temporary splint for the weekend and we are taking him to an orthopedic here in Houston this week to get his permanent cast.) I wanted to update today’s post for two reasons; one to share another great example of using Doctors on Demand (I used my own promotion code!). And two, because my dad (and myself included) were not aware of the risk of sliding WITH your children. My poor dad is so upset because he didn’t know about this fairly common injury he asked for me to share it on the blog to hopefully prevent it from happening to someone else. The emergency room doctor told them he sees it at least twice a week. So, if your toddler is big enough to go down alone, its best to wait for them at the bottom than to ride down with them. 😉 Wish us lots of luck with this active two-year old in a cast for 4-6 weeks and pray that his little brother will hold out until his due date so we can get Knox well and mobile before a newborn arrives at the house!
This post is brought to you in partnership with Doctor On Demand. Thank you for supporting the brands we love here at HOUSE of HARPER!
Caroline- this post is perfect timing! We are leaving for Thanksgiving with our one year old and we like to have options like this. Hope you have a safe and happy holiday!
Thank you for this information. Hope all goes “easy” . And Knox heals quickly.
Poor Knox! Poor Mommy! I’ll bet the cast won’t slow Knox down one bit. We’ll be praying for a swift recovery.
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Such a helpful post! Coming off of my kiddo’s wellness visit on Friday, I don’t feel like taking him back to the doc right away but he’s got a bad cough, as do I. Definitely trying this out!
Thank you,
Cilia
Oh your poor dad (and Knox!) I was at a playground w my son a while back (he’s my first) and I was about to go down a slide w him and another mom there who was in pediatric orthopedics told me that that was the most common injury she sees!! I had NO idea!!!! I shared it w all of my friends and none of them had heard it either! I think it’s such a common thing to do! Thanks for sharing your information and wishing a speedy recovery to Knox!! PS my husband was in a cast before the age of 2 and is now a 6’4″ athlete:) so don’t worry about his recovery!
I’m so glad you had someone there to warn you! Thanks for your kind words and well wishes!
I never comment on blogs – EVER – but was compelled to comment on this post. When my son was 18 months old, he had the EXACT same fracture as your son… the EXACT same way – on a slide at the park – with me sliding with him. Like you, I never knew you weren’t supposed to do that… until it was too late, of course. We went down the slide, got to the bottom and my son wouldn’t put any weight on his leg/foot. He wasn’t really in pain, it was weird, but couldn’t really tell me what the problem was. No bruising, no swelling – just like your son. So we left the park and went home. A few hours later when it wasn’t better we went to the pediatrician and got an X-ray. Yup. Toddlers hairline fracture! They splinted him for a few days then put the cast on. He was AMAZING and I know Knox will be, too. They just get up and clomp around – its really amazing. NOTHING stops little boys! He had the cast for exactly a month. When they took it off, his foot turned out slightly but it corrected in a few days so don’t be alarmed if that happens to your son. And he was off and running again and hasn’t stopped since. He’s 15 now and we worry about lots more than toddler fractures now. 🙂 TIP: for bath time they make amazing little waterproof sleeves you can put on them. They seal out the water and he can totally be submerged in the water and his cast won’t get a bit wet. We used the adult arm size since my son’s leg was so small and it worked perfectly. Good luck to you!!
Thank you so much for commenting! It is so nice to hear another mom / toddler who has gone through this. I have heard so many times since this happened how common the injury is… if only we had known before! 😉
My son had this fracture as well. However it was at 13 months and we coulsnt pin point an incident. He didn’t get a cast. Knox looks super cute in his cast. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
I wanted to let you know how eagerly my 16 year old daughter and I eagerly await your snaps just to see what Knox is up to next 🙂 he is so endearing. Please give him a hug from us for his little fracture and one for your Dad, poor thing, he must be feeling ever so guilty!!!
Hi Caroline! My son went down the slide with my MIL at 14 months (just as he learning to walk) and did the same exact thing. I was surprised how common a toddlers fracture is too! Cast was on for 4 weeks and now at 26 months it is like it never happened. Wishing you the best of luck and hope Knox bounces back soon.