Comments on It's All About We...: Althea's Birth, Part 1

For weeks I've been wondering how this all went......

2009-05-10T22:22:00.000-04:00

For weeks I've been wondering how this all went... never bothered to try and find your blog, m'dear! Thank you for sharing the story with the interested world. I'm sorry you had to deal with poor communication / administrative bullshit. We've all had these bullshit experiences, but you just hope they come at a time when you're in a good state to deal with them! But I'm so glad all went well in the end.

Hey Heather- Thanks for pointing me to the story....

2009-04-20T23:48:00.000-04:00

Hey Heather- Thanks for pointing me to the story. Happy to hear Althea is doing so well now!

All's well that ends well, right? That being sai...

2009-04-15T15:25:00.000-04:00

All's well that ends well, right?

That being said, it's terrible that you had to fight with your doctors/nurses/hospital staff. Sounds like they forgot that they're working *for you*.

Heather, I was sorry to read about the hospital c...

2009-04-13T20:33:00.000-04:00

Heather,

I was sorry to read about the hospital communication problems, but so glad to read that you and Althea are well and blossoming! Happy baby moon.

Cat

Congrats, Heather--and Josh and Maya. I am so gla...

2009-04-13T19:28:00.000-04:00

Congrats, Heather--and Josh and Maya. I am so glad that you are all healthy and that Althea is nursing so well. I'm also sorry (but not at all surprised) to hear about the protocol autopilot thing. That's just so many kinds of wrong.

The photograph is absolutely beautiful!

So happy for you.

Jen (momofsage)

Sounds like no one was listening. They get into au...

2009-04-13T14:28:00.000-04:00

Sounds like no one was listening. They get into auto-mode & can't get out of that.

In any case, a happy ending :) Congrats!

Yay for you for standing up for her. And what a lo...

2009-04-13T13:27:00.000-04:00

Yay for you for standing up for her. And what a lovely picture.

Congratulations.The baby's fine and you're fine an...

2009-04-13T12:20:00.000-04:00

Congratulations.

The baby's fine and you're fine and what else matters?

thanks so much for sharing this story. i am absol...

2009-04-13T03:37:00.000-04:00

thanks so much for sharing this story. i am absolutely mystified as to how none of the hospital staff heard you saying, over and over, two simple and in no way unreasonable guidelines for althea's and your care:

1. no unnecessary treatments or procedures
2. i intend to be with althea, wherever we are, for every moment that doing so does not present a true risk to her health or mine

what's so hard about that?

i think what really sucks is that everyone probably had the same goal in that all wanted what was best for mom & baby. i think that health care providers are really fettered by how litigious our culture has become, and are unable to allow their common sense and compassion be their guides to healing because risk management officers have established protocols to prove that ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING medically possible was done for the patient if tragedy does strike.

a retired doctor i know had a family member with appendicitis and took her to the emergency room. the doctor was retired and had limited health insurance coverage and income. it was, according to the doctor, a classic presentation of appendicitis that a third year medical student could have diagnosed with ease, but the hospital staff insisted upon a diagnostic screening procedure that cost several thousand dollars before even considering an appendectomy. the doctor refused the test and insisted that his family member have the appendectomy. the escalating levels of importance of hospital staff he had to speak to were ridiculous. i don't even know if he prevailed-- i think in this case the hospital might have "won" because of the time-sensitive nature of appendicitis.

anyway, i know that health care is an unbelievably complicated issue, and i don't pretend to have a lot of ideas for solutions. it's really sad and discouraging to me that it doesn't even seem possible to work out a solution in a single individual case, where two people have the benefit of the opportunity to communicate directly. if health care is so far fucked that individuals can't hear each other when they're in the same room, where am i supposed to find hope that corporations and governments can find a solution for the rest of us?

i guess that got a little ranty, but what i really want to say is that i'm so glad that you, althea, maya, and josh are in this world, and that you surely make it a better place than it would be without you. and i will once again thank you from the bottom of my heart for being willing to share it with us, popping vagina and all.

What an absolutely beautiful pair of daughters you...

2009-04-13T03:03:00.000-04:00

What an absolutely beautiful pair of daughters you have and what a wonderful mom you are. Fighting for your girls even before they're born.
Congratulations!