January 8, 2022

by drplasticpicker

One of my families gifted me with this beautiful orchid yesterday. The clinical circumstances around the gifting and the family identities are obviously personal and protected, but let’s just say it was what is supposed to happen. In our HMO and our country, we should expect to meet at the first visit when you have a newborn baby to meet the pediatrician you will have for most of your child’s childhood. We should expect to respect eachother, and listen to eachother and care about eachother. We should expect you to be concerned and have worries, and bring your own identities to your journey as a parent. We should expect that I am not always in, and that other pediatricians are caring as well. You should expect that in those rare times when you are very worried about this child we share together, that we together will worry together and keep that child safe. And I should expect myself to look at a child, and know them well enough to know that when they have that look on their face that I’ve never seen before and their smile is gone and your smile is gone, that in my gut I know something is wrong. I should expect that I need to know you and your family and your child over years, and that knowing over the years and making sure we formed a relationship helps in those times when someone is really sick. And then we should expect that we make the right decision when that sickness occurs.

So a family thanked me yesterday with something that was so beautiful, but honestly they are so beautiful. And I thank them for their thank you. Our family will care for it for many years. It made a big splash yesterday when I had my own family over for dinner. I said “Look what I got from one of my families because I am awesome!” But that was really the old me teasing. What is awesome, is the opportunity and priveledge and responsiiblity of being a pediatrician. It’s Dr. Plastic Picker and I’m super lucky to be your pediatrician. Thank you again for the thank you.