Friday, September 30, 2005

Waiting

A few weeks ago Maxfield had his 18-month check up. Dr. R. suggested we get blood work done so she would have a base line reading. A couple of days later they call us and say that Max’s white blood cell count is a little low and that we should get another blood test to see if it is a fluke. Apparently Max’s reading is only .3 (point three) below the bottom range. But it is enough to warrant concern.
Lauren takes Max in again this past Monday to have the blood drawn.

This is the phone call that she got on Wednesday.

Lauren: Hello
Nurse: Hi this is the nurse Louise from Dr. R’s office. I am calling about Maxfield’s blood test. His white blood cell count is still low. It is .3 (point 3) lower than the last test, and, oh…Oh.. . I should have the Dr. look at this. I will have someone call you back.

The nurse hangs up.

Now, for real, seriously, Louise, what the fuck is wrong with you? You would think, in nursing school, they would teach you that you DO NOT call parents, and say “…oh..oh I should have the Dr. look at this. I will have someone call you back.”

The worst part, NO ONE CALLED US BACK!

What the fuck! The guy who treats our grass with pesticides and fertilizers lets me know right away if he sees something that needs to be fixed or addressed and it’s fucking grass. Not a child. Grass.

So Lauren and I sit for 24 hours waiting to hear from the doctor. Nothing. I had to call them myself. I left a message and had to wait another 4 hours for Dr. R. to call me. When she finally did, she told us it is nothing to worry about. It could be that Max just had a viral infection and that Max needs to have another blood test. It could be Max's baseline reading is just slightly lower than normal. If the WBC is still low we will need to go see a specialist. I pray that is not the case.

But if it is, I hope the specialist has the same “bedside manners” as the fertilizer guy.

Fuckers.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

OH, I am RILED UP! Fuckers indeed. That just ain't right. Geez Louise.

Hope all is well with little Max!

Lois Lane said...

What a stupid nurse! And what a scary thing for you guys to have to wait through!
I hope Max checks out A-OK.
Lois Lane

Susie said...

Aaargh! Make my blood boil.

Max goes on my prayer list. Many, many parents, myself included, have had this news, and it is usually a virus, a flukey thing that doesn't amount to anything at all. I hope time speeds by until you get that news.

NOW, oh, DO post your "tag" story; it had me ROLLING.

Kami said...

Asses. I hope he's okay. Give him some extra hugs and oatmeal.

Cheryl said...

Max is on my prayer list, too. And if that whole thing happened to me, I would swear on my blog, too. And I'm not a swearer.

Tammy said...

No shit, Fuckers. This is your kid they are dealing with. What a rude ass!

Anonymous said...

Unforgivable negligence. seriously. A fireable offense in my book.

BTW thanks for the F bombs. My mother vowed to boycott our site if I didn't clean it up and so I am living vicariously through your free tongue.

fuckers indeed.

Meegs said...

Man, some people just don't think. She honestly takes the cake. Not only was that beyond rude, but talk about putting you on edge! Good luck to you guys, both with little Max's test results, but also with dealing with that office. Let us know what happens.

Effie said...

How rude of that nurse... and then they didn't call you back?!?! I hope all is well with Maxfield! I'm with Kami on this one-- I think he could use some extra hugs and oatmeal to keep him healthy and happy!

Nature Girl said...

Honestly! I hate people like that! Some people just don't think! Max is on my prayer list. and you and Lauren as well. Hope he's A-Okay! Stacie

Kari said...

You poor guys! My heart is racing just reading this! What an asshole! How did you not call her back and bitch her out? I would have freaked out on her!!! Histerically crying, the whole bit!
Littl Maxfield is in my prayers, and you two as well. I hope that nurse gets a lesson or two.

Keep us posted!

Mama Duck said...

What a f'in' idiot. Nothing like causing panic, anxiety and fear of the unknown for what is, hopefully nothing.

Margaret said...

omg...that is unacceptable!!!!!

peace...

Claire said...

Oh my FREAKING GOD! Said Nurse reminds me of my recent experience with "Dr. Suck", who made my pregnant ass wait for my appointment (for which I was on time) for ONE FULL HOUR with a 17-month-old toddler in tow. What is wrong with these people?

Isaac and I also will be thinking of your adorable son and hoping that everything is just fine.

Nico said...

That nurse is going to have a big problem with me if I ever saw her...
Max WILL be OK. Now relax and wait. And like kami said, "give him some extra hugs and oatmeal"!

Ern said...

HOLY CRAP! They need to take care of that kind of behavior in school. It needs to be HAMMERED into dense heads, so shit like that doesn't happen.

Ern said...

PS: I am adding you to my RSS reader RIGHT NOW. I don't know why I haven't before. I see you all over and I've been here a couple of times. Apparently I'm not very organized.

But I do have a good bedside manner. :)

Judypatooote said...

The unknown is always unbearable.. and when it comes to a child ever more so......that nurse, should be ashamed of herself....for one thing she should have read over what she was going to tell you to begin with.....I pray little Max will be ok.....God Bless.......

eclectic said...

Soooooo not OK. My mother's heart is simply seething at the thought. How do you NOT call someone back after ending a phone conversation in that manner??! Everyone makes mistakes, even regrettable ones, but to not call back afterwards????? However, like Susie, one of our kids had that very experience following a viral infection, and said kid is perfectly fine... well... [all except for being stuck with me as his mom, o'course....!] ;) Can't wait to hear that Max is fine.

Anonymous said...

I've had a similar experience recently. My 3 yr old daughter went in to see the Doc because it hurt whan she peed. They put her on antibiotics, did more tests, ultrasounds etc. The doc called on Thursday saying he wanted to see her right away (couldn't get in until Tuesday) we went in, waited in the waiting room for 45 minutes for the Doc to say - Yep, everything is Fine! UGH!

Anonymous said...

PS Cool blog! I'm going to add you to my list of Fave's.

Unknown said...

Doctor's that scare parents unnecessarily SUCK ASS. I don't think I would've waited for someone to call. I have zero patience.

Anonymous said...

The trials and tribulations of parents. I have called many a medical professional names in my 4 years as a mother. I hope all is well with your kids.
Great blog too by the way!

Anonymous said...

Fucking idiots. I hate when people tell you tehy will call back and they never do. If they don't want to call back, just tell me. I've got no problems with that. But in a situation like this it's especially important to call back. I bet they wouldn't be so fucking happy if they had to go through it themselves.

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