Cardiology Review

Okay so its nearly 2 years since Owey's surgery and he has just had his cardiology review - the cardiologist flys up here from Sydney - great not to have to travel for this one.

So we meet with the guy "Dr I." and go inside the consulting room and Owen is all over the place, crawling round and round the room and then standing at the door and saying Bye Bye over and over again then round and round the room again - probably looking for another exit ?!

Meanwhile Dr I. asks me how he is going "he seems very active!!" he sayes looking over at him, and I say "yes well it is his nap time (its 12.15pm, the only appointment I could get) he's getting ratty".

"Do you have any concerns about his growth" he asks and I say "well he was on the 75th percentile on the normal charts at 1 year old and now at 2 years old he has gone down to the 15th (again on the normal charts) should I be worried?" and he sayes "what about on the DS charts" and I say "he has gone from the 95th to the 75th", "well thats not a concern" he sayes. But then he sayes "Anyway you don't want him big" and I say UGH?, sorry, why not??. "You don't want a big teenage boy with Down Syndrome they are difficult to handle" my heart grows suddenly heavy "Parents say oh if only I had known what it meant to have big child with DS" and my heart is on the floor and I don't know what to say because he has painted a picture of my future I don't want to look at.

Then he goes on digging himself in deeper - "Anyway look at you, you are not big, you are medium height and thin, not like some of the mothers that come in here".

At this stage I start to boil over BUT he has me, right where he wants me, because he still has to do the ECHO and he still has to give me the good or bad news on Owens heart and so instead of giving him a piece of my mind I just sit there politely/anxiously waiting for him to start the testing.

I sing to Owen during the ECHO and he lays quietly listening to me and at the end of the check DR I. tells me everything is great and Owen won't need another check up till he is 4 years old. Owen gets off the examination table and starts doing laps again. Dr I has one last comment as we are leaving "Glad I'm not sitting next to him on the flight home"! and I shrug my shoulders at him because I just don't want to humour the man.

Why people like this, so called professionals feel they have any right to make judgements on my family, on Owen, myself and my community (implying that other mothers are overweight) makes me really mad, but I feel so disarmed in front of them because I need their "expertise" to help my son.

Anyway needless to say I so glad that I don't have to see that Dr again for a few years!