How old?

I always love the little ones who come to the clinic. The preschoolers are my favorite. They usually speak no English and therefore I am forced to speak Tagalog to them. Unfortunately sometimes my attempts at language with kids are met with a blank stare. In case your worried that my Tagalog is that bad, well it probably is, but Scott who is darn near fluent often gets the same blank stares. The babies on the other hand do not care what language you speak to them. They smile and coo at me in the way only babies can (except for the ones who scream as I try to take their temp). Last Friday, Allan had a sweet little baby boy come in for a re-check. He was one who really didn't want me messing with him. After all, I did rudely awaken him from a nap to weigh him and then pinned his arm to his side to take his temp. I tried hard to get his pulse-ox (oxygen level), but Allan said the measurement wasn't correct because the value would have meant he was close to death.
By the time the baby was seen by Allan he was awake and alert and gave me such sweet smiles and giggles. After his initial exam, I went with Allan to the "pharmacy" to help him fill meds. Most of the time Allan and Scott know exactly what medicine(s) they need and the filling of the prescription is easy, but sometimes they stand looking at the meds trying to decide what should be the course of action. This was such a case. Questioning Al about what was wrong with the baby, he replied "he probably has congestive heart failure." What I thought was a 5-6 month old baby turns out to be an 18 month old toddler. His condition, most likely combined with poor nutrition, has delayed his growth and development. It also explained the blue-grey color of his skin especially his hands and feet. It is a condition that probably could have been corrected through surgery in the US, but lack of health insurance and cash make even diagnosing his condition tough.