I will never forget the day I called my pediatrician's office to make an appointment to discuss our concerns about Meghan's slow development. I had to leave a message for one of the nurse practitioners to call me back. When I finally received a return call, it was a new nurse practitioner that I had never met or spoken to before. She basically "pooh-poohed" me and told me that I had nothing to be concerned about and that I should "wait and see". I stood my ground and told her, "I don't mean to be disrespectful to you, but I am the oldest of 10 children and have two older children of my own. I know enough about the development of babies to know that there is definitely something wrong with my daughter." She finally relented that she might be mistaken and suggested that I wait to see the doctor during Meghan's 9-month check-up which was only a few weeks away. I cannot tell you how frustrated and angry I felt after hanging up the phone.
I must admit now that making that phone call was extremely difficult. It was the first step that I took toward acknowledging that my child had a problem. Like many other parents I think I was still experiencing some denial that something was "not quite right" with my daughter.
When we finally took Meghan to see the pediatrician at her 9-month check up, her physician confirmed our fears that she was certainly behind. She was unable to sit up, she wasn't rolling over or attempting to crawl. She wasn't interested in trying solid food and she had not yet begun to vocalize or babble at all. Her body was very floppy which we soon learned was called "hypotonia" otherwise known as low muscle tone. He suggested that we contact Early Intervention (A State Funded program which provides therapy services for children from Birth to Age 3) and a neurologist. He also gave us phone numbers for several Developmental Pediatricians. We soon learned that it would be at least an 18-month wait to see a developmental pediatrician. (To be continued)
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