Wednesday, February 20, 2008
So Hunter and I went to Diabetes Clinic today and we were both anxious to see what his A1c would be. For those of you wondering what the heck an A1c is--it's a number that tells what Hunter's blood sugar has been over the past three months. It's kind of like a 1-10 scale only normal people are a 5 and when Hunter was diagnosed with Diabetes (so his blood sugar was seriously out-of-control) he was an 11. Lately we've been struggling to keep Hunter at an 8 as he's inched closer and closer to a 9. We'd love to have him at a 6 but the best we've ever had was a 7 point 1. Three months ago Hunter was an 8 point 7 and we decided on our drive home that we would do our darndest to get him in the sevens for his next clinic. Thus the anxiety.
So, first off our beloved Katie wasn't there. Some other chick was sitting behind the reception desk and she was all about the paperwork and not at all about Hunter. But Katie was always about Hunter. I don't know if she is like this to all of the Pediatric Diabetics that wander through their clinic but whenever we walk in that itty-bitty office up at Yale she makes it feel like Hunter is her very own child and she's lost him and finally found him. I'm totally convinced she loves Hunter and our entire family for that matter. So we were both a little disappointed she wasn't there. And the other chick was so business-y. It was almost like she was there to replace our Katie and get rid of the celebrating and reuniting and get down to the important stuff like collecting the co-payment and making sure his records were updated with Yale's records office.
Then some other chick took Hunter away and did all his weighing and measuring and testing. And while he was away the head doctor, "the Man", the Dr. T of the Yale Pediatric Diabetes Program wandered in and said something about how he was so happy to see all of his diabetic families working so hard to keep their kids' diabetes under good control. And then he wandered over to me and introduced himself and asked if we were keeping Hunter's diabetes under good control and I said something about we're trying really hard. And then he said, "Everybody thinks they're working hard." And I wanted to give him the finger right then but I just smiled because that's when I heard them tell Hunter his A1c was a 7.3, down from an 8.7 and I didn't care about Dr. T anymore. I could hear Hunter telling the nurses how he'd met his goal and he was so proud of himself and I just wanted to hug the little man. We'd done it, dog gone it, and where was our Katie to jump around and scream and shout with Hunter?
Then we met with the third chick, some new doctor that was there to review Hunter's numbers and it was a matter of minutes before she'd shot me down, saying something about his A1c was just a result of low blood sugar at night and not a product of any changes or efforts we had made in the past three months. Yeah, maybe. I get it. But just could she keep it to herself and let us, for the next three months or so, pretend that we do have some control over Hunter's diabetes. That we can make a difference. That our efforts aren't in vain. Would it hurt that much? Fortunately Hunter didn't seem to hear her and we've already made it a goal to get his A1c below a seven by next clinic. But I was bummed at that point and I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible and maybe never go back. I needed Katie there to make me laugh with another one of her stories about getting stuck under a bridge while tubing or some other silly thing that has happened to her lately. But she wasn't there and I was depressed.
We've always been pleased with Yale's Diabetic program. But today it was clear that they were making some changes in the way they were running things that I'm not sure were for the best. Sure, they were getting down to business making sure paperwork was complete and that all their T's were crossed. But in the process they made us feel like crap. And as a result I left thinking maybe it was time to find a new endocrinologist. I know doctors are busy and they have all sorts of things to worry about like lawsuits and insurance and paperwork but I always thought their first priority was supposed to be their patients. I don't feel like that so much anymore. I feel more like something on an assembly line. The quicker they process us the better. Except that it's not better for me. It's only better for them and since when did medicine become more about the doctor than the patient? Maybe Katie is silly and maybe she doesn't always collect the copay upfront, but I think everyone up there at Yale could learn a lesson or two from her. And I really hope she's there next time because if she's not I don't think we'll go back. Come back Katie! We need you and so does the Yale Pediatric Diabetes Team!
posted by Shana # 9:15 PM 
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