My mom said that she read that the U.S. health care system was rated the most favorably by residents in comparison to other nations by their residents. Wow. That's quite a sad statement. We've run into a few good people, but I think that the system is composed of a lot of charlatans. They make money, but they aren't responsible, smart, or helpful. The only thing that they excel at is passing the buck.
We took Henry to Urgent Care at UMC today. What a disaster that place is. They apologized for being short-staffed. Reminiscent of the last time we were there when they offered the same apology. I filled out an admit paper. Waited in the waiting room with people coughing and hacking. Jeff waited with Henry outside. It simply wasn't safe for him to be in the waiting room. Good thing that we don't live somewhere where the temperatures are in the 40s or lower this time of year. We finally got called into the registration room where a nurse decides whether or not you fall into the ER or Urgent Care category. We explained his rapid weight loss. "Well, how do you know he's lost weight?" We explained that we weighed him on our scale at home. She seemed suspicious. Frankly, it doesn't take a PhD or a MD to weigh a kid on a scale accurately. "Well, what does his pediatrician say?" We explained that we saw Henry's pediatrician on Thursday, but that was before he dropped another 7 ozs. Monday: 15 lbs 10 ozs; Thursday: 15 lbs 8 ozs; Today: 15 lbs 1 oz. The dumb*** nurse weighed Henry but insisted on keeping his clothes and diaper on, and then said that his weight was fine. I explained that his clothes weigh a couple ounces, plus his diaper weighs at least another ounce (if dry). She didn't listen to me at all; she couldn't see why it would be a problem. They took his temperature, which was 36.4 Celsius (normal range is 36.5 to 37.5), with an ear thermometer. Ear thermometers are of course the least reliable of temperature devices (according to some of the NICU nurses and our Dr. Sears guide). His hands, by this time, actually felt a little warmer, so I was a little less concerned about his temp, but his rapid weight loss is very distressing. She then turned us over to a guy who started Henry's registration.
We were then sent to the waiting room where they said it shouldn't take too long. An hour later, Henry's name was called for the second half of the registration process. This is the part where they ask you for your address (again) and double-check the telephone number (again). During the time that I was in the waiting room, no one was called into the Urgent Care center. There was one elderly woman who looked like she should have been admitted to the ER. She was shaking tremendously. I went outside to switch places with Jeff. After half an hour or so, Jeff came back out and told me that they had called two people. The waiting room was packed with both admits and their friends and family. We could tell the admits by the yellow slips that we were given during registration (part deux); there was probably 15 people or so ahead of us. At that rate, we figured that we wouldn't be seen for 3 or 4 hours (at least). I didn't have my pumping equipment, and Henry was getting upset at being outside in his car seat. So we decided to come home, where we could try to get some food into him. Three hours wasted.
Henry had some bottle in the car. He is way under his total intake for the day. I'm guessing that he had about 10-12 ozs today. But he also had a major vomit episode in the evening. I suppose that we'll call Henry's pediatrician tomorrow to let him know about Henry's weigh loss. I suspect that unless Henry starts coughing up blood, he won't be inclined to do anything, except "wait and see." Wait and see my son wither away instead of take action. I obviously need to find another pediatrician. My nerves are frayed. I'm signing off.
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