Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Check-ups All Around

...and one ANNOYED Mamma.

Deacon went for his 6 month well baby check yesterday. He weighed 16.5 lbs and it was such a fast and furious appointment at the Navy Health Factory I didn't get to write down his length. He was delayed with shots so  I did end up having him vaccinated with three different shots to make sure he'd be ok around the older kids. He received HIB, Dtap, and something called Pedirix. Deacon was such a champ. He winced and just as I sat down to comfort nurse him he stopped and started smiling. Later in the evening, though, he got super cranky and overnight he ended up with a 102* fever. He nursed through the entire night or would cry. I felt so terrible!

Today it was the big boys off to their appointments. The clinic at Mayport was so far sub par that it was ludicrous: almost funny. That being said, Eli had not been to see a doctor for a well visit since he was NINE months old and his shot record indicated he hasn't received a vaccination since his 6 month well baby. I hated the clinic that much. To date, Eli is 32.5 lbs and 40 inches. As we sat with the doctor for 2.5 seconds he told me the shots Eli would need and I kindly said we'd do about 2-3 today and save the rest for another few months. There is ZERO reason in my mind to have everything done at once. I was then informed that I had no rights according to the Navy. You don't get to pick and choose your shots. Either Eli suffered through Dtap, HIB, Prevnar, MMP, Varicella, Hep AND chickenpox or we get NO SHOTS.

ARE YOU EFFING SERIOUS? The doctor said that the Navy, across the board, requires you to follow their schedule or NO SHOTS FOR YOU! He even went on to say, cautiously, that even the AAP allows for wiggle room.

Not only are we farmed through like a factory but now I don't get to choose the shots my child receives? I now am faced with the choice to bring him (unvaccinated) to the Health Clinic or to go out of TRICARE Prime and use Standard.

Needless to say, I walked out without even bothering with Turner's exam. He did get weighed and is 44 lbs!

I'm so beyond pissed off that, along with a phone call, this rule maker will get a piece of my mind in a letter. He boss, and her bosses boss, too. NO ONE tells me what to do with my child. NO ONE.

Ok, all done. Now, to take care of a sick husband, a cranky baby and two toddlers that were up from 1:42 until well past 4 a.m.

Coffee...laced with coffee....

2 comments:

Nicole said...

Oh my goodness! I had no idea there was a rule for that! They also have a rule about not taking other children to appointments. I ended up requesting to see a civilian from Tricare for homeschooling reasons because I don't want to get a sitter for one of the kids every time the other needs to see the doctor. They ended up approving it. I still haven't taken them to the civilian yet, though... I'm afraid lol.

Nellie said...

I would LOVE for someone to tell me that I could bring my other children to an appointment. They can't be serious about all of it! I'm going to double check my facts before writing to let this person know it is NOT OK to tell families what to do when vaccinating their kids. The particular doctor we saw even had this person's name and number right on a cork board because it's requested so often. I hate to go Standard but we had SUCH a wonderful experience when we were in Jacksonville (after the clinic).
What do you mean for homeschooling reasons? I'm intrigued...