I always thought eyes were a pretty important thing to take care of. Apparently, my Pediatricians office didn't feel the same way. Sunday, after church, I noticed Joshua's eyes were oozing with green discharge and very pussy. Every time I would wipe the puss out of his eyes, there would be more within minutes. After his nap, his eyes were so gross. I knew it was pinkeye, but I hadn't ever seen pinkeye that gross before. I determined that I would call the Dr. right away on Monday. Monday, when Josh woke up, his eye lids were beat red and swollen to a size near to that of golf balls. There wasn't near the amount of puss, but any Mother in her right mind would want to take her kid to the Doctor. That's what I thought anyway. When I called the Pediatricians office and told them I thought my son had pinkeye, I was told that they didn't typically see kids with pinkeye and was given a nurse to talk to.The nurse explained that pinkeye was a virus and that I just needed to use hot compresses on his eyes and wait it out. She didn't ask me why I thought it was pinkeye or what his eyes looked, she simply insisted that it was just a virus and I had to wait it out. I told her I worked at a daycare and my employer wouldn't want my son there and would send us home until he had been medicated for 24 hours. The nurse then made it sound like my employer was very unknowledgeable, because it's again "just a virus". Well, I got off the phone and I was quite ticked. I felt feisty and frustrated. I wanted someone to see my son and his doctor's office refused. They had blown off the concerned Mother without asking any questions about his condition. After talking with my own Mother, who echoed my concern about not only Josh's eyes, but also how the nurse neglected to ask any questions detailing his symptoms, I called our neighboring town's medical office. It turns out that they were accepting patients and Josh was able to be seen that afternoon. He was given a prescription for antibiotics and we were sent home feeling much reassured after having seen a professional and having some medicine.Perhaps I acted too rashly, but I sincerely belive that if a Mother is very concerned about her child and wants him to be seen by his Doctor, that the Doctor should be at least willing to see the child. My sibling's current pediatrician has been quoted saying that a doctor is partly there to reassure the concerned parent. Well, I hadn't been very reassured Monday morning and felt unassured enough to transfer my child to a new doctor. It wasn't that I hadn't thought about it before, since I had. Joshua's original Pediatrician retired last year and was replaced with a young woman who was fresh out of medical school. I had originally wanted someone who was experienced and perhaps a parent themselves (being more likely to sympathize with another parent). Not that a younger doctor is unable to do a good job, but this incident pushed me enough to find someone more experienced and it just so happens that I had wanted Joshua's new doctor to be his Pediatrician when he was born, but she wasn't accepting patients then. So I guess, it all worked out... I still feel a bit badly.
7 comments:
Did he look like Larry the Cucumber? (That's the picture I get when you say his eyes were swollen up like golf balls.)
PS. You did the right thing.
You were so right. If you want your child to be seen, your doctor should give you some credit for being a mom and knowing your child. That is very important to me in a doctor. You did the right thing, Bethany, and you are a great mom who looks out for your son!
Don't feel badly...this is part of this new doctor's "experience"...losing patients because of her lack of concern. Maybe you should write a letter to them telling them (nicely) what happened and why you chose to leave.
I don't blame you either, I definitely would have wanted my son checked if he had this type of issue. I agree with Aunt Priscilla, I would let them know in a letter, so that they can better their practice.
Dr. Hellmann wondered how you liked the doctor that ended up treating Josh. I told her you said she was nice.
"duodorit" goes under your arms. :)
We changed doctor's in Caleb's 1st week of life. The 1st one we saw did not answer me when I asked about why Caleb had not wet his diaper in 12+ hours (Caleb had since, but I wondered why), how he didn't answer, I don't know. We went in another day b/c of his jaundice, and the other doctor talked about her daughter the whole time. I was a new mom with a 5 day old. They also wrenched his poor little leg to get blood out for a blood test. DONE! At the new doctors the nurse was traumatized by having to wrench his leg and chose a different method to get the blood. Good doctors and nurses are necessary! I'm glad you have a new doctor :). Don't feel guilty!
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