Rx: Go to Whole Foods

How can I describe how elated I am to find a pediatrician I'm happy with?!

Back in the day when we had full coverage insurance and I took the kids for all their well-checks, I was very unimpressed with the lack of knowledge shown by the single pediatrician in Forest Lake. Rather than spending time looking for a better option, I just didn't worry about it considering I take a child to the dr about once every 2 years. Then the pediatrician left the clinic around the time Kai was born, and we also switched insurance to cut costs and have more freedom of choice since we would now pay for everything. I started asking around to come up with a MD who has similar values (natural healing first, no vaccines, homeopathics), and came up with a single name of a Dr within 25 miles of here. I was ecstatic to find out she was actually in network with the new insurance company! (Which would reduce my cost and count toward my deductible.) I decided as little as my kids go to the dr it was worth the drive to Minneapolis. I asked Shayna about her (since the peds at this clinic also work at HCMC) and found out Shayna works with her and would recommend her.

Ever since then I have been waiting for a chance to go to the Dr and start this relationship! But no such luck with the healthy kids. A couple of questionable times, I called to find no appointment was available, and ended up as usual having success with my home remedies. Yesterday Kavan's "diaper rash" (he may be potty trained but still gets SO wet overnight) had gotten so bad that I knew it was infected and didn't feel comfortable self-diagnosing it to be yeast or bacterial. I was able to get an appointment in a couple hours! So Ben came home from work and off we went in the wet snowfall to Minneapolis. The weather REALLY made me question what I was doing picking a dr so far away. I prayed to God that it would be worth it and that we would like this dr. I was nervous that she'd be busy (they'd squeezed me in) and try to rush me through. I was nervous about finding the clinic. I was nervous about parking. I was nervous about being in a waiting room forever with a room full of sick kids.

The clinic was easy to find, parking a breeze, waiting room empty, no wait, friendliest nurse ever, and even friendlier doctor! I LOVED her. She took her time with me and answered a lot of questions. In addition she gave advice about somewhat unrelated issues with Kav's skin and potential allergies, and referred me to a chiropractor who does a special kind of testing for food allergies that is beyond what they can do in medicine. She diagnosed him right away with a staph infection and told me we'd try to avoid oral antibiotics for now but gave me a prescription for an antibiotic cream. She thought I'd likely need that, but when she sensed my preference for natural methods she gave me an informative handout on some other things to try first, including a recipe for skin infections using herbal tinctures. She advised using Calendula, giving vitamin C and drinking carrot juice. She asked me where I got those things in Forest Lake, and I sadly described my drive to Shoreview to shop at Fresh and Natural. As she said goodbye she said "Now go to Whole Foods while you're down here!"

I did not try to find Whole Foods since I knew it was in the opposite direction of my trip home, but my usual store was right on the way home and we stopped to buy the herbs. While I sat in the natural pharmacy aisle forever trying to figure out exactly what I needed, Kav entertained the store workers with several rounds of Jingle Bells. It was hard to spend so much more than I would have on the prescription drug, but I was thankful I could use my HSA since it was a dr's Rx.

A day later the infection seems to be gone. He's just scabbed up now. And Kav loves his carrot juice!

I can't wait to go back to the dr!