This is Dr. Vishwanath...he is my OB/GYN and has delivered all 3 of my children. I had the pleasure of working with him when I worked full-time at the hospital for 10 years in the Labor and Delivery unit. He LOVES what he does and is SO commited to his patients...he even gave me all his phone numbers to contact him if I ever needed to. (no, he doesn't give all this patients that information, so I did feel priveledged) But what made me realize even more of what a great doctor he is, is this last pregnancy with Brayden. He was with us every step of the way. He had a hard time letting me know at first the findings from our AFP test and kept optimistic but was very concerned and had me in my high risk doctors office that afternoon of the day we found out our results of 1:22 chance...he would call and check up on me at every appointment I had with the high risk doctor and made sure that he saw me at every one of my prenatal visits! He always made sure I was doing ok. When the amnio results came in, he decided to wait until his office had closed to call Jared and I down to his office. We arrived at 6pm and he spent a couple of hours with us of his own time, explaining the results and the unknowns, but wanting us to have as much time as we needed to make any medical decisions. Of course being the physician he had to give us options....OPTIONS nobody wants to be faced with...but he did not try to persuade us in any kind of way what we should or shouldn't do and I so respect that of him. This was our baby and he spoke to us as a physician and then as a friend. We all shared many tears together and thanked him for taking his time to explain things to us and share some life experiences with us of his own. Not many physicians do this with their patients, so I want to just express my thankfulness for this doctor. With my first son, he spent the night at the hospital just to let me know he was going to be there in case I needed him throughout the night...little did he know my son was going to keep me in labor for 36 hours...lol...but he was there at 4:55am when I delivered...Kaylee was a breeze, delivered in 7 hours from starting time of labor and well, Brayden started on a Wednesday evening...delivered emergency c-section on Friday evening. My doctor had to leave for another patient at a different hospital, checking on me right before going and I was at 3-4cm...contracting great (with pitocin), and then maybe 20 minutes later... my water broke and Brayden did not react very well to the stress of no fluid being in there... Brayden was extremely high still and so I had to have an amnioinfusion and Dr. Vishwanath left the other hospital and was back in my delivery room within 15 minutes...I asked him "how fast did you drive on the freeway?" He wouldn't tell me. When he arrived, he had a panic look on his face and looked me straight in the eyes, holding my hand (because I was so nervous) and said", we are not risking anything happening to Brayden...we need to get him out and you and Brayden are going to be just fine. " The chaos in my room was crazy...there were about 10 people (medical) running around me like crazy...so long story I know...but he finally arrived 10-15 minutes later in the operating room via c-section and what a beautiful delivery it was! Thank you Dr. Vishwanath...words could never explain how you impacted our lives! He came in over the weekend at the hospital, ALWAYS bringing a gift at each one of my deliveries and these pictures were from that day. He really made me feel special and thought Brayden was a very special baby.
Sorry for the long story...I feel like it was just yesterday...but to all those doctors out there...I truly hope they come across stories like these to remind them that Down Syndrome is NOT the end of the world...sure, they have to give the news to parents, but it is all in HOW they deliver the news and support the patient either way. I do not like hearing the way some doctors are so negative and want their patients to terminate asap of finding out...I think of all the babies that are not given the chance...I have just been so thankful lately and it is appropriate being that Thanksgiving is around the corner....thanks for letting me share these thoughts and thanks...
Jared, Brayden, me and Dr. Vishwanath ( You are AWESOME!)
2 comments:
Darlena...what an AWESOME doctor you have! It is a shame how many women don't get to have that kind of experience.
I really liked my doctor too. It was important to us that my ob/gyn was a Christian. I too had to have an emergency c-section. It was insane, getting me ready for it. Before we went into the O.R. Dr. Vienne sent all the medical people out and stood on one side of my bed with Mark on the other. They both held my hands and he prayed with us. It was a special moment that I will always remember.
So great idea...I'm thankful for my doctor too!
What a great doctor. I know that makes such a HUGE difference. I totally agree that doctors need to be careful about their presentation of the news. Parents will take it a lot better if they are presented with it the right way. So happy to hear your experience was so great.
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