Thinning the Herd

It really takes a lot of doctors to keep my son running. But once in awhile you feel like you are just ticking off boxes and nothing is really getting done.

I recently had a discussion with our insurance about how we needed a care conference since no one wanted to take charge of anything. The nurse suggested I pull up his list and that we spend time going over each and every provider and place a few on the chopping block. I was very happy about that and so was my son.

First to get chopped was complex care. We originally were seen by a decent provider but she got too overwhelmed and then stated she “didn’t do complex kids”. We were then shoved off to another healthcare system with a new provider who supposedly was modeling his clinic off of Boston Children’s.

First meeting, I kid you not, the doctor looks at me and says, “Some kids will just be too complicated to ever understand. Your son is one of them. He is just going to do complex things. “ He hasn’t even been able to get us a simple handicapped placard.

Look, I’m no genius, but I’m also not going to pay for his sports car with our money for those pearls of wisdom.

Next to go is immunology. They ran labs. Once again my son is weird. I don’t need another doctor to tell us that.

Lastly are Neurology and Pulmonology. My son hasn’t had a seizure since adoption that we are aware of and his asthma can be managed by his PCP.

My son and I felt fabulous about this. Guess who didn’t?? All those specialists. Luckily our insurance nurse is a dragon and managed to convey our wishes pretty clearly. Plus, I also sent some nice notes about how much I appreciated their time, but my son was kind of ready to move on. So except for ruffled feathers and one less patient to fleece I mean support, we feel pretty good about our choices.

Don’t get me wrong, we still see quite a few doctors, but as time goes on and we get more of a handle on what my son needs and doesn’t need we will maybe be able to trim the herd a tiny bit more. I’m hopeful and proud of my son’s advocacy.