No man is a good doctor who has never been sick himself. ~Chinese Proverb
Single Dad’s unsolicited advice of the day …
Speak up! Question the doctor. Challenge him/her. YOU are paying them, they are working FOR YOU. They are practicing an ART, you are living a SCIENCE.
Why do we put doctors on a pedestal? Why are we afraid to look them in the eye and say “What are you talking about?” Why do we not question them?
The doctor says, “He needs to be fed every three hours.” Well, the proper response is, “If he did not have the disorder he does, would I need to awake every three hours overnight to do this? Does his disorder cause his nutritional needs to be different than a normal kid? Can I run the feeding pump slow for an overnight feed instead? Can I wait until he is hungry like every other kid?” Quality of life is for the whole family. Understand the “why” behind what you are told to do. And make sure it makes sense to you.
Specifically, what will happen if I do it a different way?
Some doctor’s are wonderful, fantastic, and deserve respect. Others are clueless dick heads. Just like in life.
In theory you are 100 percent correct. In practice, it’s exhausting. “Why must everything be such a fight all the time,” I ask the universe at large?
I’m with the Keeper. Still chafing, fourteen years later, from the order to wake the baby (who had been screaming for hours and hours) to give the drug that didn’t help the seizures. Sounds like a nursery rhyme.
I wish i had read this post years ago. it took a long time for me to figure out the truth of what you have said.
Some younger parents get this. And they are blogging about it. Katy’s top post is titled “Quality of Life”. http://birdonthestreet.blogspot.com/2009/10/quality-of-life.html
Katy has a long history of making decisions different from what mainstream physicians recommend. She is not alone.
Thanks for the good words and agreement, but be careful, I may offer some more unsolicited advice from time to time!
Agreed, it often is a fight. But they are worth fighting for, no?