Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2002. Mattie was six months old and checking out this pumpkin place mat Peter's mom sent him in the mail. I am quite certain Mattie loved the color orange from day one. Which is why Mattie Miracle's signature color is orange.
Quote of the day: People think grief somehow fades with time. "Time heals," they say. What a crock. There's no cure for this. You can't accept it. You can't absorb it. Grief is a rabid animal you hold at bay. ~ The InBetween, "Made of Stone"
The saga of the tooth continues. What started out with routine maintenance in April of 2019, has become a LONG journey. I would never have guessed trying to replace my old silver filing with a partial crown could be so disruptive to my life. In the process of this ordeal, I have come to see that I don't LOVE the way my dentist's office is managing me or the whole situation.
I continue to have nerve pain and my dentist recommended I see an endodontist. A dentist with more training, who specializes in nerve issues and root canals. Given that I call my dentist's office so often, I now know his office staff! I also know my dentist typically refers patients to one or two endodontic practices in DC. Not the one he referred me to! In any case, as soon as my dentist said I need to see a specialist, I was pro-active and found two endodontist offices I really liked and was planning on contacting them. I was until my dentist wrote me a referral to another office. Not one of the two I researched. Naturally if your doctor recommends someone, you take that seriously. So today, I was scheduled to meet the endodontist recommended to me by my dentist.
Well the appointment never happened. It did not happen because I canceled it. Have you ever gotten a bad vibe from a doctor's office? Well this is the feeling I developed regarding this endodontist practice. I did not like their website (it seemed simplistic and not professional), but their front office staff was down right loopy. I had asked them three times to get notes from my dentist about my issue and recent visits. Needless to say they never did it. Then last night before I went to bed, I decided to look up both endodontists in the practice to see if they were licensed in the District of Columbia. How do I know to do this? I know because I have been a chair of a DC licensure board for years. To me, having licensure is important, as it safeguards the public and also assures a certain level of education, training, and experience from a health care professional.
I literally lost it last night when I couldn't find the licensure information on these doctors through the DC Department of Health's website. This finding triggered two emails. One to my dentist and the other to my own licensure board staff. As they have access to a more comprehensive database to look up professionals. It turns out after some digging, the staff did find out that the doctors were licensed. However, by that point I felt it was a sign. So I cancelled the appointment and instead called the practice I wanted to see. Mind you my dentist typically sends people to the practice I researched and liked. However, he is trying to expand his network of providers and basically wanted me to try this newer practice. NO THANK YOU! Given I have had a nerve issue since May, I want a professional who has seen these issues for many many years.
In any case, for my local readers, if you want to look up a health care professional in DC and find out if they are licensed, go to:
https://doh.force.com/ver/s/. I think it is important patients know who they are seeing! DC isn't the only "state" with such a website. Every state has its own department of health which licenses professionals and allows you to "look up" the license of a behavioral health or medical health care professional.
Perhaps it is my experiences with Mattie, or maybe it is just me. I can get vibes about doctors and their offices, and once I get that bad feeling, there is no way I can turn back. I view this as another lesson I have learned from the Mattie playbook!
No comments:
Post a Comment