Our Faith in Doctors can be dangerous

I thought I was over this. Once again a doctor has made me scared.

A routine eye exam with my daughter, just making sure she doesn’t need glasses and that the vision in her right eye isn’t getting worse. When she was two she was diagnosed with strabismus. It’s a lack of convergence of the eyes so it makes it difficult to focus on an object or see properly.

For my Zoe, this means that she’ll be walking along and walk right into something or trip over a curb on the street. She’s a trooper, she doesn’t cry and just pops right back up with a smile on her face but it makes my stomach sink every time.

As the doc told me yesterday, if the two images from the right and left eye aren’t similar, the brain can’t put them together and use that information. I always knew that the brain did this magic trick where the image from the left eye and the image of the right eye formed this totally new picture that in reality didn’t even exist. If we think of Wayne’s world,” camera one, camera two”, this is what the brain has to do to integrate both images.

So this is all good, the appointment is humming along, I’m forecasting a lollypop for good behaviour. That’s when she hits me with the suggestion that Zoe wears protective goggles.

What… Why? That was my reaction.

This would be to make sure that her “good eye” doesn’t get poked out or something leaving her with no good eyes in the good doctor’s opinion.  Okay so they would be regular glasses but that’s not the point. The point is that once again I’m made to FEAR something bad happening to my daughter.

So frustrating.

This fear-based approach made me more than a little angry because it brought back the totally unilateral recommendation to pull the plug on Zoe after her devastating MRI results came back nine years ago.

If I had listened to the Doctor’s opinion and recommendation years ago, Zoe would of slowly been dehydrated to death. All under medical supervision.

I am so disgusted with the medical practices at times.

Nine years ago was one of those times and yesterday just reminded me of the thought process that can create havoc in one’s life.

Let us spread some prevention and hope instead of fear when caring for ourselves and our children.

I refuse to accept this opinion even if she went to medical school. I choose to trust my gut instead of her fear-based intellectualization of the situation.

For parents dealing with a special needs child, my heart goes out to you. We think we’re over getting upset by what doctors say to us but in order to make a good decision. We have to take in all the information and make a decision for what’s best for our child.

If I might share advice from what I’ve learnt along the way: Trust yourself first and foremost. Your gut will guide you.

Contact me at 647.801.2424 for a free thirty-minute ‘Heal your Heart’ consultation. I’d be happy to assist in clearing out the old pains in a painless way.