Mini Me: November 2010

So it took us a long time to get around to taking Talon in for a normal check up. We have to the doctor so much since he was born that it was just not very high up on our priority list. We should forego the regular doctor in the future!

When we got to the office we were super impressed with the check in process. Instead of handing my a clipborad with 5 thousand papers crammed into the little clip that is about to crack from all the strain, she handed me a computer screen and a little plastic stick to tap my info straight into the system. Our positive impression of the place went steadily downhill from that point on.

We were taken back to a little room and a man (somewhere in his educational walk through the muck of the medically minded) came in and started Talon's check up. He was very polite about the issue of not vaccinating. He made it obvious that he did not agree but was very respectful of our choice. He then did a very haphazard run through of checking out Talon. He explained about reflexes, reactions, etc. as he went through but, much to my surprise, Talon was not really responding to the man and yet he kept going as if he had. Now I know that Talon does all of those things (gripping etc) on a normal basis... but he didn't! To his credit, he was very sweet with Talon.

When he left the room we thought we were about to leave when the PA came in to redo the exam so as to check the other dudes results. AHHHHHHHHH! That said, we will move on.

She was not a very friendly woman and as she walked in the first thing that she said was "I am not going to even say anything about you not vaccinating your child" in a really hoity toity tone. I smiled sweetly and said "okay!" Definitely not the reaction she was expecting. She had to get the last word in "except that I think that you SHOULD vaccinate him." I did not respond. "You know, there is no correlation between autism and vaccines." The fact that she brought it up proves that at least a chunk of society believes that there is!

She then proceeded to examine Talon with a not so gentle hand. She actually asked me to hold Talon still with an annoyed tone. Has she ever even seen a baby?

When she examined his uncircumcised penis, she told me that he was not developing properly and that we needed to see a urologist to have a minor surgery performed. She even hinted that they might nave to circumcise him so that he would develop. The woman has no experience at all because babies that are not circumcised are supposed to look just like him and not develop in the way that she was talking about until at least four!

Then she examined his legs and said that his legs turn out. I agreed with her... they do! She then told me that he was going to have to have braces on his legs at night to correct his deformity. She gave me a referral to a orthopedic surgeon so that I could "get the problem under control."

It is perfectly normal for feet to turn in or out in babies. The legs will usually straighten out when the baby starts to walk because the bones harden. If there is any issue with the legs not completely straightening they don't do anything, unless very severe, until the child is about ten.

She made a few more comments about vaccines and we were on our way.

Summing up our visit: my child has a deformed penis that needs surgery, my child has deformed legs that need braces and possible surgery, he desperately needs to be vaccinated.

Now the vaccination thing I don't really care about because we know that most people will not agree with us. As for the other two, I would have left that office devastated if I was not more educated in those areas than the PA! All in all, we will not be going back!