Statistics Show....

Statistics show that babies with fevers over 102... blah blah blah


Statistics show that humidifiers in a room..... blah blah blah


Statistics show that a baby's cough.... blah blah blah


Statistics show that tylenol...... blah blah blah


STATISTICS SHOW THAT KEEPING A MOM WAITING TWO AND HALF HOURS FOR HER SON TO BE SEEN AT URGENT CARE IS ABSURD!!!!



Last night I took Aiden to the after hours extended care because not only was he coughing like crazy, had a fever for 4 nights in a row that was over 102, but then he started to leak fluid from his left ear. So, after dropping off the other kiddos and my hubby at the condo, Aiden and I made the trek to urgent care. Upon checking in I was told that we were 7th in line. Didn't seem too bad at the time. Here I was with Aiden all bundled up in his faux Mobi wrap to not only keep him comfortable but mainly to minimize exposure to everyone elses' sick germs. Slowly the patients in front of us are called back one by one. Aiden was not tolerating anything that day and just wanted to be rocked and walked. By this point he was burning up and struggling to catch his breath with each coughing fit. Did this jump us to the front of the line? Of course not! And actually they got things a little out of order and took a few others ahead of us (and no it wasn't because their sickness were more severe, the lady admitted she messed up). So now we are no longer 7th but 9th in this LONG line.

Once we finally got called back 2 and half hours later, I was less then pleased with the speech I received from the doctor, as if he was reading from his medical journals the entire time. He looked briefly at Aiden and then responded with something about statistics not being significant enough to prove that a fever over 102 does harm to a baby in any way and that statistically tylenol is not necessary and is only 'prescribed' for our comforts and not to eliminate the fever. When I asked if I should be using a humidifier at night to break up the cough I got some statistical study thrown at me again saying there was no change in the group that did use compared to the group that did not. He went on to say that a baby's cough can not be interpretted accurately according to statistics and that we must base our diagnosis on other factors. BLAH BLAH BLAH!! I know my baby's wheezing is a sign of an asthma attack. This isn't my first rodeo, I have two other kiddos with asthma and home nebulizer machines. His oxygen levels supported the asthma fact, being only 89%. But, did he give him a breathing treatment? NOPE! He simply told me to take him home and if it would make me feel better then I could give him some prednisone to open his airways. "Oh, and by the way, here is a prescription for an antibotic to just tuck away for when you might need it in the future." Statistically, isn't it bad to over medicate with antibiotics since the body builds up resistance to being treated? Just wish I had some medical journal statistics to quote back at him.

Needless to say I was not pleased with his visit and have called to have him seen again later this week by his regular pediatrician.