Bad Cop
Soooo, way back in January, on the 24th, we had THE WORST appointment I think we've had yet. Our referral to the new Orthopedic Dr was at what is supposedly one of the best facilities in the country. Maybe so... but I've been yet to see the proof. And this appt was no exception. We were seen by a terribly closed minded Dr who had an absurdly awful bedside manner and closed mind. He did not communicate his future treatment plans with me, nor did he even give Little Lady an exam on the table. He sort of checked her out on my lap. He told me things that I knew for a fact to not be true.
His overall attitude suggested two things to me: 1) He had heard of Arthrogryposis, but didn't really know anything about treating it. And 2) He didn't want to be bothered with us.
"Let's do nothing, come back in 3 months" were his words. When I asked what his future plans were for trying to increase range of motion in Little Lady's knee's, he told me "no Dr. has ever successfully done that before". UNTRUE!!
Well... if he thinks for a moment that I will bring my baby girl back to him, then he's lost his mind. We will not be stepping foot into that office again. Period.
Good Cop
On February 18th, Little Lady FINALLY had her appointment at Shriners Hospital for Children. Because we were supposed to be in clinic so early in the morning (7:30am) and it was all the way in Los Angeles, (about two hours away, driving. But can be much longer in traffic, especially morning commute traffic) we stayed the night before in a hotel. Thursday morning we got up, and headed over to the hospital. We signed in to clinic, got registered, and waited. And waited. And waited... Finally (several hours after our appt time) we were paged into clinic, for an appointment with Dr. Hugh Watts. He is a good man. His treatment plan isn't as aggressive as I was hoping for... but he does have a lot of experience with AMC, he isn't "knife happy", and his bedside manner is spectacular. Dr. Watts examined Little Lady more thoroughly than any of the other 3 Orthopedics she's been seen by. He looked at every part of her body, explained things to us in detail as he was doing it, tested her reflexes/muscles... he was great! He is the chief of staff at the LA location, so he didn't have to forward her information to be considered, he just immediately accepted her as a patient. We will return for a more in depth appointment on May 19th. At that time she will likely be seen by the hand surgeon and physical therapist as well. And Dr. Watts will evaluate the progress that Little Lady has made since this past appt. (i.e. can she roll over? Sit up? Try to stand?). Although (as I mentioned) his plans aren't as aggressive as I wanted, I do feel that this may be the time for me to trust someone, and he seems trustworthy. I think that we can build on the relationship, and I don't think that it will be too long until we collectively decide how Little Lady will be treated. I will get a better feel for him, and then we can collaborate. Because although I'm not a Dr... I have done some homework/research and I have some ideas of my own. Hopefully he will work with me on this! But for now...
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
