The Cleveland Clinic-A First Hand Review

So today I ventured out for the first time to the Cleveland clinic.  Josh had an appointment with the pediatric gastroenterologist at 8:00 am.  We arrived at the actual hospital campus/building just after 8:00.  After refusing valet for $10.00 total I was directed to the nearest parking garage.  First hour = free.  Second half hour $4.00 and so on until you reach a $10.00 maximum.  Yikes.  The parking garage had a tunnel connecting to each of the nearest buildings which was a nice amenity.  We headed to the 11th floor and checked in.  We got there at about 8:15.  The secretaries were really nice about us being late.  They never said a word and when I brought it up they said that it was fine. We waited about 30 minutes in the waiting area and they were packed.  Then we went to our room.  We waited about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  That felt like a small eternity.  All the while I was thinking about the parking fees.  Abby was just about ready to burst out of her skin and Josh was determined to figure out what would happen if he shoved his pudgy little hands into one of the many uncovered outlets in every area/room of this place.  The doctor came in.  She seemed smart but then she tried to give me a mask for Josh to wear because he coughed once.  When that obviously failed she excused herself and came back with a mask.  She then took the normal history where I repeated myself well over 3-4 times per question.  Then it was time for the physical exam.  Josh squirmed a little bit and she once again excused herself to get a nurse to help her hold him down.  hmmm.  The nurse came back, now masked (she wasn't before we saw the doctor), and Josh laid perfectly still.  He was perfect.  He didn't even cry.  She then said that Josh likely has a milk protein allergy and possibly something else, I can't remember.  She did ask Abby to be quiet, which scared Abby which caused her to be quiet.  Then she left and had a dietician come in and tell me to stop eating.  Just kidding, it just feels that way.  Apparently I am on a kosher diet now or something.   The doctor came in and took Abby on a tour while the dietician talked to me which was immensely helpful, and she did say that for how long she waited Abby was very good.   So the dietician said to keep trying to get him to take cereal and suggested a few tricks to help get it down.  It was helpful.  We then scheduled an upper GI with speech pathology.  That will be done Thanksgiving week.  The dietician was more personable than the doctor and I felt like she listened more.  She thought that he might have some acid reflux issues which the upper GI would be able to diagnose.  We then went to the lab where two big men tortured Josh.  This test is to confirm the milk protein allergy, lead poisoining, iron count, and cbc.  All in all we were there for four hours.  And I got to pay $10.00 in parking.  When I go back next month I will just pay the $10.00 for the valet.  I felt like it was a productive visit.  I felt like they were helpful and knowledgable.  But I also really really hope that I get to cancel all this nonsense and just have my little boy eat.