Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Frustration with the House

Last week I realized that I will be out of town on the day of Daughter's next scheduled appointment with her Primary Care Provider.  House Owner had informed me she would not be going to future appointments with Daughter's PCP.  She was mad because I was going, too, and she didn't want me involved.  I had informed her that I thought it was good that she was there, but as long as I was managing Daughter's diabetes, I needed to attend those appointments.

So early last week I emailed House Owner and told her that I was now going to be out of town for that appointment, and asked her if she wanted to take Daughter or if she wanted me to reschedule.  I didn't get a response.  On Friday I sent the message again, this time including the Case Manager.  I still didn't get a response. 

Yesterday I had a voice mail from PCP.  Daughter's blood work was back, and they wanted to make sure that I would be at her next appointment because they wanted to discuss it with me.  Her A1C, which measures average blood sugar, had gone from 6.5 to 7.4, meaning her average blood sugar had gone up about 30 points.  I called and rescheduled the appointment, and told them the increase was because Daughter had been into food.  Then I emailed House Owner and Case Manager and told them I had changed the appointment and why.  Case Manager immediately forwarded it to Nurse, who then sent out an email to the team (taking my name off-- I only found out after Case Manager added it back on.)  Today, I had a response from House Owner, informing me she would be attending the appointment, too. 

I know that my involvement and strong opinions are not appreciated by everyone.  I work hard at not being offensive.  I have said repeatedly I don't expect perfection, and I know how challenging Daughter is.  When the house has made mistakes, I have gone to them directly and not included anyone else on the team, not wanting to embarrass them.  When Nurse insisted Daughter's diabetes needed to be managed by an endocrinologist, I checked with the PCP.  She said her control was excellent, and she didn't need an endocrinologist.  She thought going to one would just complicate things, and definitely did not recommend it.  I keep telling them I'm not an expert on diabetes, I'm an expert on Daughter, and have been successfully managing her diabetes for over 13 years. 

Case Manager informed the team that she and the House Owner had cured Daughter of sneaking food by their firm approach.  I'll let them keep believing that for now. 

2 comments:

Miz Kizzle said...

They've being petty. Power struggles are annoying and pointless. Have they never come across a diabetic before? It's very typical for them to sneak forbidden food. In your daughter's case it's become a game and a way to get attention. I strongly suspect she'll do it again.

Reverend Mom said...

Well that's the conclusion her therapist and I came to years ago. But they are much smarter and much more skilled in dealing with these issues, so they will stop it.