Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The New Doctor

We're off to get Big Kid's physical for kindergarten today.

He has been very concerned to hear that we will no longer be going to his regular pediatrician. I don't know why, the guy wasn't that personable or friendly. Big Kid was so upset about it and questioning it so much that I finally had to explain that we could no longer see his old doctor because he made a really big mistake, and his job is to keep the kids in our family safe and healthy and if he makes mistakes doing something so important, we can't have him be our doctor anymore.

Now I would say at least once a week Big Kid feels the need to sadly announce that his doctor made a mistake and even though he's really nice, we won't be seeing him again. What kid cares this much about his pediatrician?? Mr. Memory has clearly forgotten all of the trauma we went through because of this doctor. That's fine by me, but I wish we could switch doctors without emotional distress on top of it all.

So I'm taking him to my doctor. All week he has been asking me questions about her. What's her name? How old is she? What does she look like? Does she have kids? Do I know anything else about her? NO I DON'T. SHE'S A DOCTOR. Normal people aren't this emotionally invested in their health care practitioners.

So, keep your fingers crossed that he loves her. Also keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't cost 2 trillion dollars, now that we are insurance-less.

9 comments:

jenn said...

If it's not being too nosy, what did the old pediatrician do?

Unknown said...

I can't be too specific due to privacy reasons, but he misdiagnosed something that resulted in surgery and the loss of a body part.

Then a month later (we still didn't realize the above incident was 100% his fault) he told us Big Kid had a life threatening illness, rushed us to a children's hospital for tests that resulted in Big Kid having a seizure, and it turns out he was just constipated.

We're actually suing him for malpractice for the first incident. Sadly, he was Mr. Ashley's pediatrician and everyone in town knows him well. I think he's just too old to be on top of his game.

jenn said...

Holy shit! That's major. Good call.

I have a friend here whose pediatrician missed a heart defect in her baby. She happened to take him to an on-call pediatrician for an ear infection when he was two, and that guy caught it immediately. Her son wound up having emergency open-heart surgery less than a month later.

We put so much trust in doctors, and it's scary to contemplate what could happen when they're not on top of things.

Big Kid cracks me up, though, with being so concerned about the new doctor!

Maddness of Me said...

I think vaccines are involved with the kinder physical.

Ugh. I will wish BK well today.

Me hates shots.

Melodie said...

Don't forget that if BK needs any shots for kindergarten, you can get them for free from your local Health Department. I was without insurance when my oldest two were toddlers and preschoolers, and I made sure that they got their shots that way.

Anonymous said...

My daughter is like this...very anxious with new change. I'm sure all you freaks out there will say she's autistic...I worked with those kids, too and no, she's not! She's just sensitive and anxious. Those 2 I will own and I don't need a label on her for that. She's also VERY thoughtful, loving, and caring! We don't tell her things until right before if it's something that will cause too much distress. We just act all casual and give her as much information that we can in the 5 minutes before we go. Once we've answered all her questions over and over again, if she obsesses on it too much we tell her she can't talk about it anymore. This might seem cruel, but it gets her to stop obsessing about it. We reassure her that everything will be fine and that we've answered all her questions and some. It seems to somehow set her mind at ease and get her "off" of it. Not sure a psychologist would give that advice, but it works and it honestly seems to help her feel better since we're not obsessing about it, too.

Sorry about all the crap you went through with the old pedi. and that your kids were hurt as a result of it. They need to recognize their mistake and make restitution for it.

Unknown said...

Shit Melodie, I wish I had known that yesterday. Well, maybe little kid will get his vaccinations after all.

Txchic, our kids are normal, just much more in tune with their surroundings than average. I know at 4, I could care less who my doctor was. Definitely no emotional attachment.

Joy said...

That really sucks about your Dr. sometimes me kids ped. just pisses me off, what is it with them?

Anonymous said...

I'm so flattered that you recognized me. LOL!! I like the way you put it. I know my daughter is exceptional and am proud to be her mommy!! Big Kid gets both his brains and beauty from his mommy....of course I'm sure Mr. Ashley is hot, too, but we haven't seen his photos to prove it. LOL! ;-)