Letters from the heart

Dear Lab Tech,

Although I feel that you really should be commended on your mad vampire skillz, you did after all manage to do my daughter's blood draw with out even making her flinch, something really has to be said for your level of tact. You have chosen a career where people will be bringing their babies to you and some of them will have some pretty scary things on their lab reqs. Your job is to take the paper, put on your poker face should you chose to read what's written and do your thing. While I could have forgiven you for the raising of your eyebrows and the suprised expression, leaving me sitting in the chair with my 4 year old on my lap while you whisper in the next room about the tests that are being performed is not appropriate. If you've got to discuss it, wait until after we leave. At this point you can feel free to chat it up with your co-workers all you like as it will not make any difference to my reality. Oh, and you might want to work on your whispering as I could hear what you were saying and yes, they really are testing her for that and if I wasn't already aware of the potential severity of the situation your actions would have certainly given me the heads up.

Sincerly,
Janelle


Dear Dr. S

I realize that it irritated you to no end that we were unable to meet with you to discuss the "differentials" but as a medical professional surely you should understand that when I say my daughter goes in for dental surgery at 11 ish, 1030 simply won't work. I'm not sure how you thought the logistics of said meeting would play out really. I also am completely aware that you are extremely concerned about my daughter's health. Be assured, my husband and I share your concern and feel confident that we are well apprised about the potential gravity of the situation. To be honest, your evasive demeanor and refusal to name the condition you are concerned about was nothing more than irritating, particularly since you handed me the lab req with the condition spelled out in black ink. Do you not realize that people read these things and then run home and consult with Dr. Google. I must admit, I hadn't thought of that condition. I thought of plently of other serious syndromes but hadn't done much reading on that particular one.

I agree that sitting down to discuss the "differentials" (this is now the word of the day, go forth and use it freely) is a very good idea but to be honest I'm not sure what the point in a meeting 3 weeks from now would be, considering the test results won't be in for at least a month. I suppose it might be fun to discuss the "what ifs" but it seems kind of sadistic to me. Wouldn't be better to wait the extra week, determine if she does in fact have this syndrome and go from there? Why stress about the maybe's when hard facts are a few short days away? Just a thought.

Sincerely,
-Janelle

Dear Dr. E

I've got to admit it, you let me down on this one. I appreciate your care of Tatyanna thus far but to be honest, I think you've been in over your head for a long time. Your nonchalence over our daughter's worsening condition over the past few months left us grossly underprepared to hear words such as "progressive". I'm also feeling a little deceived. We were told that her MRI results were normal only to find out this weekend that they weren't. I like a suprise as much as the next person, I'm truly not always the bitter, jaded person that I'm sure I can come off as, but this was not exactly one of those fun surprises. I prefer presents. It also left me a little concerned about the credentials of the person interpreting the results. Perhaps he was a University of Phoneix grad too? I do find it intersting that when I asked you if the clonazepam was simply a band-aid to give her a rest for a little while, you responded with "No, it can work really well in the long term as well." Although I was skeptical since that didn't really jive with anything that I've read I let it go. The neurologist informed us that clonazepam rarely works on its own for much more than 6-8 weeks. Kind of a quick fix if you will.....band-aid like even. Also interesting that by week 6 the seizures came back and by week 8 they were worse than ever.

I know that you are the only pediatrician in town and as such it's ok to refer kids on when their issues get a little complex. Nobody will think the less of you. I promise.

Sincerely,
Janelle


Dear Hotel,

I know that we requested a wake up call, but the 6:00 firealam and associated evacuation was maybe a tad extreme?

Sincerely,
Janelle