There's nothing like getting your baby immunized to make you feel like a rotten scumbag.
If I knew of something she wanted, I would totally go buy it right now. I'm wallowing in guilt. It's probably a good thing that she's not a material girl--for now, I've got everything she wants.
Honestly, why don't medical places treat people better? I think a sucker would have made me feel better about making my poor innocent baby cry. Or how about a sticker? It could say something like "I'm a Good Mom: my baby's immunized!" or "I Helped Prevent Polio!" Or how about one for the baby that says "Be Nice to Me, I Got Shot"? Please add your most clever sticker phrase in the comments. If it's REALLY clever, I'll send you some stickers. Seriously. Cute ones.
7 comments:
not a sticker idea, instead a really sad story. when i took ava in to the doctpor because she broke her leg i overhead the doctor say, "mother claims her baby fell from the crib." i just about bawled hysterically (saved it till i got home, lucky ava).
seriously, we should picket.
I would think the intrinsic satisfaction of having prevented a potentially deadly disease in your daughter would be enough to assuage your guilt about the momentary discomfort of an injection.
To address Miriam's comment, about 5% of pediatric emergency room visits are because of child abuse. The doctor always has to be thinking about it. Sure, kids have accidents all the time, and it is terrible to feel accused of intentionally hurting your kid, but the fact is that child abuse is not rare and the law requires that it be reported. So if you are going to picket anyone, picket those people who beat, shake, and break their kids.
As far as stickers are concerned:
- "My baby should make it to adulthood - She got her shots today!!"
- "They hit me with their best shot."
- "I may be crying now, but thanks for saving me from the measles, Mom."
- "Thanks, Mom."
- "Crying now better than dying later."
- "20 minutes of Crying is a lot easier to listen to than 3 weeks of this" (Okay, that can't really go on a sticker, but it is important to keep in mind).
Humph. While doctors might have to be vigilant for signs of abuse, that certainly does not mean they should accuse everyone whose child has been injured. That seems like a horrible policy to me.
"Mother claims" sounds very accusatory to me - and is especially harsh for a mother who is agonizing over having a hurt child. Trying to be objective does not excuse a doctor from the obligation of tact. A more fair, objective term would be "mother reports..."
I feel you about the shot thing. It is heart-wrenching to hold down their little arms while the nurses stab them, then watch their little faces crumple up...:(.
Sticker ideas:
I survived a shooting.
Measles, mumps and rubella - oh, my!
Soul vaccination
I did the hokey pokey (with a picture of a needle on it)
I like Glade's "They hit me with their best shot."
I think it's probably because Miriam's got "that look." You see her walk down the street and think, "I'll bet she squashes pansies--on purpose." Of course, I hate pansies, so I'm right with her on that.
I'm not excited for when Abby gets mobile. Her daddy, bless his heart, is pretty accident prone, and I'm guessing it will get passed down to some extent. I think he's been to the emergency room ten times or so. I'll have to call you, Miriam, and commiserate when the doctors look at me askance.
thank you, amber. i feel supported.
Agreed - I usually use the term "reports" when told that a patient does something or has a symptom, i.e., "patient reports the sudden onset of stabbing left-sided back pain" or "patient reports drinking 2 six-packs of beer daily," but continue to use the word "denies" to describe things a patient reports not having, i.e., "patient denies headache, shortness of breath, fever, chills, or runny nose" or "patient denies use of illegal drugs." That may come across as accusatory, but it just is the shortest way to say what I am trying to say.
Interesting. Yeah, I guess it is shorter and makes more sense to say "denies" than "reports not." And "denies" is, I think, a whole lot better than "claims not." "Claims" just implies disbelief. I guess "denies" has that connotation too, a bit, but...yeah. Whatever. Glade, you are a good doctor. We won't picket you :)
This whole conversation makes me think of when I fainted in Blockbuster a few years ago, and they took a bunch of tests to make sure I wasn't pregnant. I don't remember what terminology they used. It makes me wonder whether they said, "Patient claims she's never had sex," or "Patient reports never having had sex," or "Patient denies having had sex." Hmm.
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