Dear doctor who treated me like a nuisance,

Dear doctor,

I recently brought my daughter with special needs to your office, because she hasn't gained any weight in a year. I am aware that kids with Down syndrome are often small, but you see, I've learned not to treat my daughter as just one more of the group. I treat her as an individual, as a whole.  I was simply seeking peace of mind that everything is ok, and we aren't missing something.

But you, sir, were rude. You made it clear that we were a nuisance. We were wasting your time.  You probably think I'm an overreacting, hyper mom.

I, however, would call it vigilance.

In the almost 4 years since I've had my  daughter, I've had to learn the hard way that I must be vigilant. Most of us special needs moms do.



So before you judge, maybe there's some things you don't know that could be driving my desire to peruse avenues that you see as a waste of time. You may not realize that when my daughter was a newborn, and I questioned her pediatrician( at the time )with concerns, and he confidently dismissed them as being a result of her having Down syndrome. Sleeping constantly, choking while eating, fast and labored breathing- Down syndrome. You can imagine my shock when we actually discovered that she was in heart failure, and she would be scheduled for open heart surgery. (FYI- she did start to do better, and surgery was cancelled.  She is still monitored every 6 months for her defects.)

You may not know  that a doctor confidently assured me that my child could not have sleep apnea, but she did, and it was severe.  And since her tonsils and adenoids removal last year, her health has been night and day. She can finally get JUST a cold.

So pardon me if I have learned to second guess and pursue things that you see as a waste of time. Don't get me wrong. I have liked all of our doctors, up until you. It's not the pediatrician's fault that issues are missed. They see such a volume of patients that they can't possibly focus on my child as a whole. They are forced into tunnel vision by what they are seeing at that moment, because they are overloaded. So they might miss that my child may have an airway abnormality that causes her to have croup every other week in the winter months.

So that's where I come in.  I'm here to see her as a whole. I'm here to catch what you all are missing.

Because, you see,

I'm all she has.




No one can do what I am doing.

So why don't you cut me a break and try walking a day in my shoes before you treat me like a nuisance.

Sincerely,
A mom who will do anything, including dealing with people like you, to make sure my kid is taken care of.

Ps We loved your resident. He was great.