My Ob/Gyn

I have a fantastic Ob/Gyn. I got her when she first started practising and the crusty old Dr. that I had retired. I was very young, still in college, and not smart enough to look for the right Dr., I just went to whoever they scheduled me with. He left, I got this new young Dr. who I liked instantly. Twenty years later, she is listed in the top Dr. list always and I think her practice is closed. I really like her.

I like her even more now. At my really enjoyable yearly visits with her (get the sarcasm), I always talk a few minutes about FASD and life with a child living with FASD. I went a step further this year. I bought her a Damaged Angels book and gave it to her at my last visit (it is appropriate to give a gift to someone who is placing foreign objects inside of you, isn't it?). She was going to Mexico on spring break the next week and was excited (or at least acted to be) to have a book to read. She asked if she should mail it back to me. I said no, that she should make sure that it is passed around to all the Ob/Gyns in the office when she is done with it.

She called me yesterday with some test results and mentioned the book at the end of the call. She said she thought it was an excellent book and she has about 30 pages to finish. She had no idea about how the kids are truly impacted by the alcohol and was amazed at what our family must be dealing with. She was glad to have had read the book and was going to be sharing it with the other Dr.'s (she works in a very large clinic). I told her I was so appreciative that she had read it and just wanted to make sure that as an Ob/Gyn, she understands the importance of counseling expecting moms on alcohol abstinence during pregnancy.

My friend was laughing at me when I told her I did this. She sometimes thinks that I am a little "out there" when it comes to talking about FASD. I told her if she had to live with it 24/7, she would do everything she could to get the word out also. I think I have bought at least a dozen of the Damaged Angels, by Bonnie Buxton, books in the past year. Have you read it? If not, you should get it from the library. Even if you are not living with it, you must know someone who is (maybe me). It is a book everyone should read.