I would like to thank God for my doctor, Paul Spencer, D.O.
When we first found out we were pregnant, I searched diligently within my insurance network for a Christian, pro-life doctor to deliver our baby girl. I did more than a few weeks of searching, and found Dr. Spencer at AALFA Family Clinic in White Bear Lake. It's kind of a hike to his office, but it's worth it.
Dr. Spencer is one heck of a guy. He's a devout, spirit-filled Catholic man with five kids (one biological, 4 adopted) plus one in heaven, and he has a passion for the sanctity of the miracle of life. He is very kind and encouraging, very practical, and doesn't give in to "scare tactics" commonly associated with pregnancy.
But what blesses me the most about him are these two things:
1.) He guarantees delivery, unless there is some huge reason he can't be there. So I know that my baby girl will enter the world under the supervision of a man of God who sees her life as precious and holy...vs some other "on call" doctor I've never met with blood on his or her hands from abortions or whatever else.
and...
2.) I found out today that he prays for me, JP and our baby EVERY DAY.
That is a special doctor.
I am so thankful for him.
8 comments:
I love that! We were going to a Christian clinic in Plymouth and I cried when we finally decided to switch to one closer in Monticello. When you find a great Dr, it's so hard to leave! Good luck with the delivery!
Audra,
I am happy you have found an OB your are happy with and I assume you have done the work on finding a pediatrician. It is important to spend time finding a doctor in those situations you are comfortable with.
Hopefully I am reading into your text too much, but I have to say that when you say, "some other "on call" doctor I've never met with blood on his or her hands from abortions or whatever else." I think you are casting a large negative shadow over a lot of fine people.
I don't know if you have a had a bad experience with a doctor, there are certainly those out there, but I have spent a lot of time around people in all stages of becoming a doctor and I can say the vast majority are in the profession to help people.
First, if you got an on call doctor it should be someone from the same practice which this Dr. has decided to associate himself with. When Cooper was born we had the same basic guarantee from our doctor that he would do everything he could to be there, but he also introduced us to the other doctors in his practice so they wouldn't be strangers if it came down to that.
Once again, I may be reading too much into this, but just the negative tone you seem to have toward the medical profession seems drastic. I have seen the work that goes into becoming a doctor and being a doctor. The time spent at the hospital in ICU to try to save babies who not that long ago wouldn't have a chance for life. I've seen my wife go in to the hospital to visit with patients on her day off because they were HER patients. I have had to give up my wife for those "on call" times when she has to go in because of a risky birth or a child is born with complications. I've had many a cold meal sitting around for my wife because she is at the hospital dealing with a sick child. Maybe I am a little too close to this, but I have to admit I found your comments to be very negative toward a profession who spend most of their time trying to help and heal people.
Thanks, Chad. I don't mean to cast a negative light on a whole bunch of great people.
I had SUCH a hard time finding a pro-life doctor in my insurance network. My main concern is that I would not want a doctor who performs abortions being the first hands to welcome my baby into the world. That was very important to both me & JP. Maybe that sounds harsh or drastic given the fact that these same doctors help and heal people all the time, but I am very passionate about the sanctity of life and expect my baby's doctor to be the same way.
I don't know whether the other doctors available at St. John's share these values with me & JP. That's why I am just so thankful for Dr. Spencer.
I am very thankful to those who have dedicated themselves to helping people, and for their families - I am sure it is not easy for you or the kids to have to give up Val as much as you may have to. I do not have a generally negative attitude toward the medical profession - I praise God for them. But I definitely WILL be picky about who delivers my baby, and I think that is part of my responsibility as a parent.
I appreciate your response. I certainly think you should take time deciding who your primary physicians are going to be. You have a right to do that, although in our country, you don't necessarily have the right to have their services covered by your insurance. I am glad you found someone in your providers network that fits your criteria.
You also may not get to be as choosy if there are complications. We had complications when Cooper was born. We were fortunate that the pediatrician on call was the man in charge of the pediatric residency program at UofL, but the truth is I would have felt very blessed by God to have anyone there with the knowledge, skills and abilities to make sure my boy was healthy, despite their religion. I think the story of the Good Samaritan shows us that it is not always God's people that do His work.
I am missing, however, how your statement, "He is very kind and encouraging, very practical, and doesn't give in to "scare tactics" commonly associated with pregnancy," is not a broad brush covering a majority of doctors. That certainly sounds to me like you think this is something that is normative. I'm not sure what the scare tactics you are referring to are. I have only been through this twice but no one ever tried to scare me. I also don't know what you think there are trying to scare people into or out of.
I would appreciate understanding what your message was with this sentence, because I am having a hard time understanding what you are trying to get at.
God bless.
I said the "scare tactics" were associated with pregnancy - not with doctors.
When I first found out I was pregnant, I was very insecure about a lot of stuff. For instance, I got a bad cold during my first trimester and took Nyquil to sleep at night. A bunch of people got all over me for it (friends and family) and I got very nervous that I was being a poor mother and potentially hurting my baby.
Dr. Spencer has always been very laid back, and he very calmly explained that taking Nyqil once or twice was not a big deal at all. That's the kind of stuff I'm referring to.
I think a lot of pregnancy WISDOM has been escalated into FEAR. Not by doctors, necessarily, but by books and magazines and maternity websites that pregnant women surround themselves with. Dr. Spencer has always encouraged wisdom without playing in to the fear side of it all.
Thank you once again for the clarification. I apologize for thinking that you were saying that this was something unique to Dr. Spencer.
Once again, I am glad you found someone you are comfortable with because your primary physician really is more than just a doctor. For them to practice medicine best this is someone that you will have a relationship and will know your family. It is important to have someone you feel comfortable with and bond with and it certainly sounds like you have found that, and that is a wonderful thing.
Audra,
I noticed you said you were going to St. John's to give birth...I just wanted to let you know that I used St. John's Hospital as well and had a great experience there. Although I never inquired as indeapth as you did about the religious/moral views of the staff treating me and my baby, I can tell you this - when things got a little tense (my blood pressure dropping and the baby's heart rate dropping) my dr. called in the OB on call (my dr. is a family practitioner so can't do emergancy procedures) and the room was swarming with nurses, I could tell that the entire staff was only focused on making sure that nothing happened to me or my baby (who by the way is healthy and happy :)). Also, the nursing staff afterwards was so patient with my million and one questions.
Awesome - I was really impressed with the hospital and the staff that I met on my tour there. It's kind of a hike compared to some of the other hospitals around, but more than worth it, I think.
Post a Comment