Tater has vent clinic today and I'm going to finally get to explain why I want to take him to Cincinnati. His vent team in Birmingham has been hesitant for us to take him to Cinici. I totally understand why and where they are coming from. Tater will still need to see them and they're not going to be the primary caregivers. They're used to giving orders, not taking them. I understand.
The thing is, I'm exhausted. This will be Tater's third visit to Birmingham since Thanksgiving and we have one more at the end of the month. It's an hour and a half drive down there and back. Parking is spotty and we usually have to wait long times to see the doctors. We have the drive down pat and Tater doesn't mind going but I have to find someone to pick Toser up from school, I'm always rushing to get home, Tater is soooo pleasant the day after a Birmingham visit (not). I dread visits down there.
The Children's hospital in Birmingham is associated with a teaching hospital. We see top notch doctors and I've never been disappointed with Tater's care. But with the way the specialty clinics (urology, vent/pulmonology, ENT, etc) are set up, I'm expected to be the information sharer. Yes, they all have access to his chart. Yes, all of the specialists know each other and talk with each other. But they never look at his chart and they don't talk, really, and I feel like I'm drowning in trying to get the doctors all on the same page.
After Thanksgiving, Tater had an appointment with ENT in Birmingham. I didn't make this appointment, his pulmonologist did. She wanted Tater to see this particular ENT so we went. I was assuming the pulmonologist had at least talked with the ENT to let him know what the deal is. No kidding, the ENT walked in and asked, "Why are you here?" Not in a 'hi, how are you' way, but in an 'I have no clue why you are here, seriously why are you here' way. When I explained why Tater's pulmonologist wanted Tater there, the ENT said, "Well, I'm not the guy who can help you." I appreciate the guy's honesty, but wow. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it. It was such a wasted trip and I felt so stupid, even though I was only doing what I was told to do.
I know there will be issues in Cincinnati. No place is perfect, there will be kinks and everyone knows I'm going to get fired up about SOMETHING. But in Cincinnati, we see 3 specialists (pulmonology, ENT and GI) who honestly, truly share information because they're all working together. No one will be looking to me for the results of a test because they will already know! Because they actually shared information! And look at Tater's issues as a whole and not just as broken up bits. Such a novel concept.
So, we're about to leave for Birmingham, and I'm hoping I don't cry when I'm pleading my case. I'm desperately trying not to burn bridges here, and I think his vent team is great (well, except for one doctor who has a Napoleon complex). We all KNOW I'm going to cry so just wish me luck on the not burning bridges thing. K? Thx!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Switzerland
I married into a family who thinks traveling is like breathing: It's just done. I, the ever-easy-going person that I am, play along for the sake of family harmony. So when it was decided a girls trip to Switzerland was happening in October, and I was asked to go along, I did my sister-in-law duty and went along. You know, for family harmony and all.
Leeda's friend, Gunilla, lives in France, just outside of Geneva. We all flew in at different times (Leeda went a day early, Kajja was flying in from a work trip in Nepal) and once we were together, Gunilla drove us to Montreux. Montreux is a resort town on Lake Geneva (Lac Lemans to locals), about an hour and a half from Geneva. We stayed at a great B&B there and wore ourselves out with the walking, eating and shopping. We also took a train up to the peak of Rochers de Naye, one of the mountains above Montreux.
Rochers de Naye is a lovely place with lovely views and the plan is to go back for my 40th birthday (if not sooner so my knees can handle the hiking) to stay in a yurt. We walked around a bit on the trails and met a man who had hiked to the top of the mountain. He was also very lovely (*wink*) and we invited him to partake of some eau-de-vie (fruit brandy) we had gotten at the train station gift shop. One of the things I love about Europe is that you can buy individual shot glasses of brandy at 6700 feet and no one blinks an eye when you pull them out.
So, there we are, on top of a mountain, doing shots with a foreign hiker and taking pictures. After the hiker went on his way, literally running down the mountain, we decided to do yoga poses. This decision had nothing at all to do with the fact the brandy we had was 80 proof. But it was a gorgeous place to do yoga all the same.
We 3 Americans hung around Montreux an extra day and we wanted to try the ultimate Swiss experience: fondue. Except fondue isn't as mainstream Swiss as the Americans think it is and there was really only one fondue restaurant close to where we were. Melting Pot it's not. The restaurant was very much a tourist trap with a painted cow at the entrance and gnomes all over the place. Also, it smelled awful. Leeda said it was a particular kind of sausage so while I was wary, I was going to get over it. Then we got the menus. Their house specialty is horse. I immediately associated the awful smell with cooked horse and got all woozy headed and faint. I seriously thought I was about to pass out and kind of relayed that to the sisters. After a little discussion, where it was discussed I'm an overreacting wus, we left. Kajja was a bit interested in my reaction because she's vegetarian and has somewhat the same reaction to ALL meat. The only thing I could come up with is this: in the States, we use horses as work companions and most other animals we eat are raised as meat. Yes, it's a weak argument. Yes, I eat cow, pig, chicken, fish, etc. I just couldn't fathom being in a restaurant where the smiling man next to me was happily eating Black Beauty. I am a hypocrite.
Aside from the horse eating people, I LOVED Switzerland. It's quaint in a huge European kind of way, everyone speaks English (as does everyone in Europe but the Swiss are nice about speaking it with you) and US dollars are accepted in Geneva. USD being accepted in Geneva is important when you've run out of Swiss Francs but would like to purchase chocolate and a watch.
If this were 1978, I would invite you over for drinks and show you a slide show. As it is, you can pour yourself a glass of wine before viewing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21041037@N07/sets/72157625551654656/
Leeda's friend, Gunilla, lives in France, just outside of Geneva. We all flew in at different times (Leeda went a day early, Kajja was flying in from a work trip in Nepal) and once we were together, Gunilla drove us to Montreux. Montreux is a resort town on Lake Geneva (Lac Lemans to locals), about an hour and a half from Geneva. We stayed at a great B&B there and wore ourselves out with the walking, eating and shopping. We also took a train up to the peak of Rochers de Naye, one of the mountains above Montreux.
Rochers de Naye is a lovely place with lovely views and the plan is to go back for my 40th birthday (if not sooner so my knees can handle the hiking) to stay in a yurt. We walked around a bit on the trails and met a man who had hiked to the top of the mountain. He was also very lovely (*wink*) and we invited him to partake of some eau-de-vie (fruit brandy) we had gotten at the train station gift shop. One of the things I love about Europe is that you can buy individual shot glasses of brandy at 6700 feet and no one blinks an eye when you pull them out.
So, there we are, on top of a mountain, doing shots with a foreign hiker and taking pictures. After the hiker went on his way, literally running down the mountain, we decided to do yoga poses. This decision had nothing at all to do with the fact the brandy we had was 80 proof. But it was a gorgeous place to do yoga all the same.
We 3 Americans hung around Montreux an extra day and we wanted to try the ultimate Swiss experience: fondue. Except fondue isn't as mainstream Swiss as the Americans think it is and there was really only one fondue restaurant close to where we were. Melting Pot it's not. The restaurant was very much a tourist trap with a painted cow at the entrance and gnomes all over the place. Also, it smelled awful. Leeda said it was a particular kind of sausage so while I was wary, I was going to get over it. Then we got the menus. Their house specialty is horse. I immediately associated the awful smell with cooked horse and got all woozy headed and faint. I seriously thought I was about to pass out and kind of relayed that to the sisters. After a little discussion, where it was discussed I'm an overreacting wus, we left. Kajja was a bit interested in my reaction because she's vegetarian and has somewhat the same reaction to ALL meat. The only thing I could come up with is this: in the States, we use horses as work companions and most other animals we eat are raised as meat. Yes, it's a weak argument. Yes, I eat cow, pig, chicken, fish, etc. I just couldn't fathom being in a restaurant where the smiling man next to me was happily eating Black Beauty. I am a hypocrite.
Aside from the horse eating people, I LOVED Switzerland. It's quaint in a huge European kind of way, everyone speaks English (as does everyone in Europe but the Swiss are nice about speaking it with you) and US dollars are accepted in Geneva. USD being accepted in Geneva is important when you've run out of Swiss Francs but would like to purchase chocolate and a watch.
If this were 1978, I would invite you over for drinks and show you a slide show. As it is, you can pour yourself a glass of wine before viewing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21041037@N07/sets/72157625551654656/
Friday, December 3, 2010
Perplexed
Things that perplex me, in no certain order:
- Actors on kids' shows. Do the hosts on The Sunny Side Up Show really love their job? What about the actors on The Fresh Beat Band? I doubt they make a ton of money so there has to be some love, right? Are they hoping for the next big break? Did they lose a bet? I'm intrigued.
- My children. I love them. I love them more than anything in the world. How do they drive me so crazy?
- Doctors, their "policies"and how those policies aren't always effective. Tater and I once waited on a neurologist for over 2 hours. I had to drive an hour and half home and it was already 4pm, so I decided to leave before Tater ever saw the doctor and you can bet I was determined to never go back. But Tater's pulmonologist really wants him to see this particular neuro. The appointment has been made and I received a notice that states: If you are more than 15 minutes late for your appointment, you will not be seen and the appointment will not be rescheduled. I'm sure they say this is so they don't get backed up and have to make patients wait. Ha. Hahahahaha. Not funny.
- How a loving God would pick my child to have the burden of a special needs life. How a compassionate God would take a sweet little boy named Angus, who had the most gorgeous smile and who dealt with so much in his short life, away from his family. How a nurturing God would let any sweet child deal with any obstacle. I don't get it. I'm reading When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner. I hope I can find some perspective.
- (full circle here) Is Dr. Scott the Paleontologist the most dynamic paleontologist they could find to host a children's show? Is dynamic paleontologist an oxymoron? Dr. Scott is cute, he obviously knows his dinosaurs, but he's lacking a certain je ne sais quois I've come to expect in my children's programming.
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