3 posts tagged “doctors”

I've been meaning to share a funny (to me) from our last visit to Dr W.

The Boy and I waited for a while in the examination room (long enough for me to vomit into the sink and clean it up), and when Dr W came in and sat facing us, The Boy reached out for the good doctor to pick him up and hold him.

Dr W was impressed. "Most kids this age scream in fear when they see me coming."

I wondered why, since he's a very nice man with a gentle smile and good demeanor. He told me that a lot of parents tell their kids to be good or they'll get a shot. Oftentimes, they'll do it right in front of the doctor. No wonder they're afraid of him! I'd be scared, too.

But not The Boy. "Oh, no, " I told Dr W. "When we're going to the doctor, I tell him we get to see Dr W and Nurse A, like it's a treat. After all, we don't see you every day!" Besides, the staff is awesome and still coo over The Boy. It's wonderful.

Dr W smiled and told me how much he appreciates that - it certainly makes his life a little easier. But it also begs the question: How long will I be able to pull this off before The Boy realizes that a trip to the doctor really isn't that much fun?

I love our pediatrician's office. No, I seriously do. I was telling one of my newly-announced pregnant girlfriends the other night that I really like Baby C's doctor, but more important, I absolutely adore the staff. My excursion there this morning simply drove the point home.

Yesterday, I got a call from school asking if I would please please get a doctor's note for school saying that it's okay to give the baby some infant Tylenol when he's in pain from teething, as he was yesterday. I called the office, and they told me I could pop into the office - whenever I had a chance - to get one. No problem.

Now, whenever we go to the doctor, the nurses and the staff are always so friendly, and they always recognize Baby C. He's got a fairly unique first name, and I think he's got remarkable features, so I simply thought they looked at the list of appointments and recognized his name, so they knew to expect him.

But this morning, when we arrived, Danielle, the nurse at the front, was finishing with another patient when she looked up at us and exclaimed, "Baby C!" (Okay, she used his real name. Just go with me on this.) Then she asked me, "What's wrong with Baby C today?"

"He's teething something awful," I said, "and I just need to get a doctor's note for school saying that it's okay for him to have Tylenol."

"Oh, is that all?" she asked me. Then to Baby C, she said, "Are your tiny little gums hurting you, big guy? Well, we'll get that fixed right away!" She got up to get his file.

Mind you, I haven't signed in, I haven't said anything except what I needed - nothing. So, when she came back out, I started spelling our last name for her, thinking she forgot to ask.

"I know who you are!" she said to me, waving his file. "There's no need for that!"

Within three minutes, we were back in the car and on the way to school.

I cannot say enough nice things about my pediatrician and his office. Honestly. Just when I think I've had the best experience there, they go and top it. Thank goodness Dr W does more than pediatric medicine, because I would be hard-pressed to find another doctor like him with a team of nurses like his!

...and I'm feeling a little blind. I had to get my eyes dilated so he could look inside my eye, so my computer screen seems to be doing this weird psychedelic flickering thing. I'd be nauseous if I didn't have such a strong constitution.

Anyway, this was my first visit to this eye doctor (hence the dilation), and I really like him! I loved the optometrist I saw when I lived in LA, but when I moved to Orlando, I needed to find a new optometrist. I saw Dr T for 10 years, and he knew all about my ocular history. I moved to Florida in 1999 and have gone through four or five different doctors in search of a comparable local doctor. And, with the chances that Baby C will probably need corrective lenses thanks to yours truly, I really wanted to find an optometrist that I liked.

Enter Dr L. His office staff, to begin with, is awesome. I called yesterday to schedule an appointment, and they saw me today. His office is also open on Saturdays, but I really needed a new prescription. Chris has an appointment on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, though, which is awesome because he won't need to take time off from work.

Dr L explained all the tests, let me know my results, and let me walk around with a makeshift version of my new prescription. (Dr T was the last optometrist who would let me do that.) He also talked to me like a normal person. I have, after all, been wearing glasses for almost 25 years. Additionally, when it came time to establishing my new prescription, he set it for 20/15 instead of 20/20 (I'm currently seeing at 20/40 out of one eye and 20/60 out of the other), which was something else that no one has done since, well, Dr T.

I also told him I wanted to get screened for Lasik surgery, and within 20 minutes of leaving his office, I got a call from the Lasik facility! How crazy is that? Here, I was expecting to wait a few weeks or days, at least.

So, I seem to have lucked out now in my choices of healthcare providers. I have an awesome pediatrician who also happens to be my doctor, a terrific OB/GYN, and a wonderful optometrist.

Now I just need to go back to the dentist. Thankfully, I like him better than dentists I've had in the past, but I don't think I'll ever be happy having someone poke around my mouth.