To the doctor we go

I woke up this morning with a cough — the cough that, when I get it, typically lingers months after the sickness is gone. The one that makes me feel like I have to be careful breathing and moving so as not to set off a coughing fit.

Therefore I called to see if the doctor could see Amy and I today.

The office we went to for her nine-month wellness visit informed me that they could not see me today because I was a new patient, and they were scheduling new patients two weeks out, and that’s why they recommend new folks establish themselves as patients before they get sick — i.e. just going to the doctor and saying hi, I guess.

Except in all the vast literature they sent me when I made Amy’s nine-month appointment there was nothing about this policy.

Yikes; I was miffed and upset, too.

I called another doctors’ office and asked if they would see us, and they did — unfortunately the only times available were right in the middle of Amy’s afternoon nap, but you take what you get.

Nice nurse. Didn’t like the doctor so much, and he terrified Amy (was it him? or just that it was naptime and she has a cold and was in a strange place…). He seemed careless.

I don’t really know what I want from a doctor.

Good manner is very important to me — I want to be listened to and respected, and I want Amy treated gently and respectfully. This guy’s seeming carelessness, and dismissive attitude towards Amy’s upset (”I don’t take it personally,” he said; did he care about *her* feelings?), were not the manner I’m looking for.

The confusing part is how much authority I want from a doctor. On the one hand I want a doctor to examine the situation and pronounce his or her recommended course of action. On the other hand I want my concerns and ideas to be taken into consideration. This guy may have taken consideration too far — he seemed to essentially say, “whatever you want, I’ll give it to you,” which is not quite authoritative enough. I don’t like a doctor to give in to a patient’s fears or demands if what the patient wants is not really the best solution.

Anyway, we came home with antibiotics. Amy hasn’t had any before, and I haven’t had any in a long time, so I won’t worry too much about overuse. Even if I’m not convinced that the doctor was convinced we both had bacterial infections, we might, and this one time won’t hurt us if we don’t. And it just seems better to be precautionary, and not wait until I’m too sick to take care of Amy.

Mark seems to be getting sick, now, too.