Over the years we have thanked our lucky stars on numerous occasions because our pediatrician has turned out to be the ideal doctor. He is great with the kids and really pays attention to them when they have something to say, he relates to parents unbelievably well because he has three young children of his own and most importantly - he is willing to settle in and listen to your concerns and answer any questions you might have. He never makes you feel rushed or unimportant.
Before today I would have described my feelings towards the kids' pediatrician as "appreciative," "grateful," "impressed," "relieved." But today, I have officially become enamored.
And here's why:
Middle-Bug had his fourth birthday last week and today I was taking him in for his annual portrait. We always go to a photo studio in the mall down town and have typically had a pretty good experience with them. Today was unfortunately an exception, but that is a story for another day. Towards the end of our photo session today, Middle-Bug went to sit down on a small stool in the waiting area. When he sat on the stool it tipped over backwards and Middle-Bug cracked his head on a table top on his way to the ground. He instantly started to cry and I went over to inspect the damage. When I got close to him I could see that he had actually split his head open and was bleeding quite a bit! The employees at the studio were swarming all around us, one called an ambulance (probably a bit of an over reaction) one brought paper towels, one brought an ice pack, one brought stickers for all the kids and started entertaining Big-Bug and Baby-Bug and one ran to the back to print our photos out at no charge. In hind sight their response was so smooth, I wonder how many times they have been through this drill!
When the fire crew arrived they took a look at Middle-Bug's head, asked me a few questions about his mental status (which was fine) declared his injury safe enough for private transportation and then I signed some wavers so I could take him to be seen in my own vehicle. The EMT who did the exam recommended the urgent care facility at the local hospital rather than the ER because the wait time is shorter, so I packed everyone back up into the car, called my husband and told him what was going on and then headed to urgent care. When we got there I unloaded all the kids (and Middle-Bug's ice pack!) and we headed across the loooong parking lot to the entrance. Unfortunately when we got to the door there was an employee standing outside who asked me if we had an appointment. WHAT?! An appointment for urgent care?! She said if we really wanted to we could come inside, but we most likely wouldn't be seen today. I asked her where else we should go and she (very rudely!!) said "another urgent care I guess." *sigh* So I packed everyone BACK to the car again and called the boys' doctor to see if he could recommend another local urgent care. They told us to come right in and the doctor could do any necessary stitches/staples himself. By this point of course, I was pretty shaken up and was trying my best to keep from breaking down in tears while I was on the phone and it was such a comfort to finally feel like we had a solution.
We drove the short distance to the clinic, checked in at the reception desk and were immediately seen! Their doctor checked Middle-Bug over from head to toe, decided his (extremely minor) head wound was already clotting and sealing up so well he didn't want to mess with stapling it and opening the wound back up, checked his ears and nose and throat for swelling and determined that Middle-Bug was in fact Wolverine. (To Middle-Bug's unending delight)
This awesome doctor has seen us through an electrical shock, a knocked out tooth, a broken arm, infant hernia surgery, a super-sprained foot and now....a (minor) head wound, each time in a way that has made the experience feel comfortable and safe. I mean seriously, could there BE a greater pediatrician on the planet!!
2 comments:
Oh my...what a day you had! It really is so wonderful to have doctors you can rely upon and trust. Sounds like he made a scary & frustrating situation much easier. :o)
yes! Interestingly enough, I have gushed about him on multiple occasions to other people when medical stuff and kid injuries come up in conversation. Just this past month I TWICE had another mom ask me if our pediatrician was the dr I was talking about! Turns out one of my co-workers and one of the women in my bible study group also take their kids to the same dr and could tell who I was talking about! haha It's not surprising to find that a lot of his patients are crazy about him!
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