The Second Battle

When you have one child with a certain set of problems, you become hyper-aware when a second develops the same set of problems...


I'm with my kids every single day, from the time they wake up till they go to bed; I am there. I know their good habits, their bad, their likes & dislikes, so why is it I am looked at as a joke when I take either one of my boys to the doctor?? No, I do not have a medical degree or a PhD but guess what? I'M THEIR MOTHER!! I don't need any of those things to tell you my youngest has the same speech problems that his older brother does. I don't need those things to tell me he probably has fluid in his ears, just like Brother.


I DO need a doctor who is willing to listen to me & help me take care of my children. Yes, they are my responsibility which is why I take them to a doctor; someone who does have that medical degree, someone who does have that PhD. It's your responsibility as a medical professional to provide medical services. Just because you don't feel these services are necessary does not mean you are right. It doesn't mean the services aren't needed. It just means you aren't willing to do your job. 

I mean, really?? How hard is it to get out your little ear magnifier and look inside my kids' ears for fluid?? Or to do a quick Tympanometry? I know you have the equipment to do one; it's been done in your office before. Just not by you. I WILL NOT assume it's because you come from another country or that you don't understand my English. You do. You know what I'm asking, you're just really good at NOT doing it. You have lots of reasons: his ears are dirty, I need to call ALTA -- even though you haven't diagnosed him as "developmentally delayed", I'm just being overly-worrisome. REALLY?? Because last time I checked, it took SIX YEARS to find out a simple fluid problem was behind my oldest son's speech delay when I left it up to the "professionals". 

I WILL NOT LET THAT MISTAKE BE REPEATED!! 

These boys are my life. My entire world revolves around them. Every day of my life is based on them. You will not act as if they are of no importance. My children are the future of this country; ALL of our children are. You, as a doctor, have an obligation to me & my children. You took this oath:

"I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.

I will not be ashamed to say "I know not", nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given to me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, be respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help."

And I intend to make you keep that oath. My child WILL NOT spend the next four years of his life struggling to hear & speak clearly. You WILL NOT brush him aside & 'wait to see what happens'. I will continue to pester you, continue to flood your front office with calls & concerns for my child, I will continue to push this issue until you give in. I will not let you convince me you know my child better than I do. I won't stop until I have the answers I know are out there. 

I am Mother. Hear me ROAR.