That's it. We will be finding Biniam a new eye doctor. In hopes of sparing my blood pressure. :) Suffice it to say that we have been jerked around one too many times, it's costing us money, and it's impossible to advocate for your child's health when an office is utterly incompetent. (Total side-note, but I also really don't like the cartoons/shows they have on in the waiting room. I think they're inappropriate. But that's just me.)
Biniam's glasses broke a couple of weeks ago and so we've been taping them up each day for him to wear around the house. All because the office insisted they didn't have any frames at any of their offices to fit his still-intact lenses. Because we were ALSO told that he'd need a new prescription at this visit, we held off on purchasing new glasses. I found out today that the doctor is NOT giving him a new prescription, and their office DOES have those frames in stock...IN HIS SIZE. So we just wasted a lot of time rigging up glasses, and I was given some false info that nearly cost us a bunch of money.
The good news is that his eyes have definitely improved, and he should have his new glasses Monday.
As an added bonus, I will leave you with one final, very awkward story from our visit today. The eye doctor referenced us being on Medicaid. I said that we weren't. She said, "Oh, well I just assumed." No clue what that was about. But it didn't make me feel very good.
So farewell, All About Kids Vision. My blood pressure and mental health will be better off now that we will no longer be seeing each other. :) It may take me forever to find a non-pediatric optometrist who will see a 4 year old, but it will be worth it....
(Not sure why I felt the need to rant on my blog. I don't like seeming grouchy. I'm actually in a very happy mood. But this doctor was just too, too much. So I thought I'd share!)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
They most certainly are NOT "all about kids vision!!!"
Medicaid, huh?
Where are we supposed to file that?
She assumed Medicaid because she saw that he was most likely not born to you, and automatically thought he came to you from foster care. Kids who have been in foster care can be on medicaid until they turn 18 as an incentive to help more people with lower incomes or really expensive insurance adopt. They are usually also on Medicaid while in foster care, so most doc offices are pretty used to that, especially in a metropolitan areas.
So she made an assumption that was probably informed by a lot of personal experience, but still an assumption and the incorrect one.
That, or my guess is that she assumed that you were a single mom with lots of different baby daddys...and therefore, low income and needing medicaid. I really wish you would have called her on it and asked her why she would have assumed that. And MADE her explain herself. Crud like that ticks me off. Ugh.
Glad you are changing offices. Hang in there!
oops, it's Jeannett...
anonymous, i'm well aware that she may have thought he was a foster child. i just didn't appreciate the assumption that he couldn't possibly be my son, or that if he was, we must be on government assistance based on the way we look.
and jeannett ugh, i KNOW. it was weird.
look for kids glasses with a warranty. We have two pair and trade off while the one pair is being repaired. they will only replace the lenses once but the frames they will replace for a year no matter how many times. we have repaired mangled glasses more times than I can count. everything from they fell off and sister jumped on them to the dog stole them and chewed them.
All About Kids... ironic.
why don't you try Children's Eye Physicians near the Park Meadows Mall? That is where we take our Yabeserra who has accomadative esotropis from malnutrition. I wouldn't say that the doctor is especially kid friendly, but he is competent!
TOo bad you don't live in MN. I know a great Pediatric Opthamalogist with appropriate waiting room cartoons (Finding Nemo, Cars etc.).
On another note I hope that you do bring Biniam to another eye doctor. It is possible that they didn't want to change his prescription because they assumed he was on medicaid and wouldn't get paid for the upgraded glasses. Just a thought.
I'd go for the warranty on the glasses too. Try looking at places like Lens Crafters, Pearl Vision or Target/Walmart optical stores.
Good Luck,
Claudia
that is horrible- especially if your children were in earshot...they might not get what that assumption means now- but someday down the road they will. I wouldn't have confronted her in front of my kids either but a "heartfelt" letter would be arriving to the office addressed to the doctor! good luck finding a new doc.
Meg
I don't think I stated what I meant clearly - I was suggesting that she assumed he HAD been in foster care and that you had adopted him, as foster children retain their Medicaid after being adopted.
I guess as a social worker and member of a multiracial international adoptive family that has zero tolerance for racism on any level, I wouldn't have batted an eye at that comment. Medicaid is just a fact of life for the people who deal with the paperwork day in and day out, no second thoughts, no judgments, no stigma attached.
And I'm anonymous because I'm not on blogger.
Kali
Post a Comment