More than a patient

          I went to my doctor on Friday to follow up on unfortunately, a miscarriage.  No sooner than I found out, I lost it.  That's not really the point of this post though.  When I arrived I was greeted by the ladies at the front desk, they have always  made me feel so welcomed, they always say hello and say my name as I'm walking in, something I had never had with any doctors office, EVER!  The nurse brought me back for a blood draw, embraced me in a hug and I felt so understood.  After my blood draw which took two sticks, one in each arm because I pulled my arm by mistake and pulled the needle out, I waited to see the midwife.  I was greeted by her and again approached with compassion. They explained things to me in a way I could understand and made sure to remind me it's not my fault.  The doctor came a few minutes later and offered his thoughts and concerns and in that moment I felt like I became more than just a patient. That I mattered.  I have only been with this office since discovering I was pregnant with Nathan and I wasn't sure where I was going to go since my midwife had left the practice I had been at for 8 years, and their staff was less than helpful.  I was referred by a friend, and on a wing and a prayer I decided to try them out. In the beginning I wanted to see the midwife since that was what I was most familiar with, and having never seen a male doctor before I wasn't sure how comfortable I would be.    My first appointments with him seemed like any appointment I would have had, they were brief but concise and my questions were always answered.  When I first found out about Nathan I was devastated, as one can imagine, but in those days following I saw a different side of my doctor, one less worried about formalities and guidelines and seemingly more concerned about my overall well being.  I think this is the way that all doctors offices should operate.  I have read so many other blogs on here about women who's doctors were less than helpful, less than compassionate, or to full of pride to admit when a mistake was made.  I am here to say there are good doctors out there.  I can't imagine the toll it must take on doctors to go from room to room.  Sometimes offering hope and a cure other times discussing remaining days or weeks. To tell one mother that they have successfully conceived a child after years of trying to tell another that hers did not make it.  Informing a family that their loved one is cancer free and another that the cancer has spread. To come out of the operating room victorious to coming out with "we did everything we could."  It is the doctors that still have compassion that end up being the best ones.  We hold doctors to a higher standard because we are entrusting them with our lives and the lives of our loved ones.  I feel blessed and fortunate to have the ones that make me feel like I'm more than a patient, I'm a person.  My hope and prayer for those of you who are finding yourselves feeling more like a patient and less like a person that you will find a doctor with compassion and understanding. As far as the beginning of this post, yes we are devastated but not discouraged.  I really contemplated even sharing that we suffered a miscarriage so soon after losing Nathan.  But I think like me there are so many other woman who have lost and quickly wanted to conceive again.  We do not feel like this is the end of our journey, and even after having lost another one, we still have faith that we will bring a healthy baby home from the hospital again.