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Counterintuitive Crap

Nymh's picture

It's been a while, huh? A piece of information that is critical to this story is that I have worked in the field of ophthalmology for several years. So a little over a month ago, SS was prescribed glasses to try to prevent one of his eyes from becoming a lazy eye. I always thought that it was odd that he didn't already have glasses considering that they have known about the possibility of this eye becoming a lazy eye for several years, but as BM has a complete aversion to me having anything to do with SS's medical care, I have no say in the matter and have never even seen SS's eye records to know if what I suspect is true or not. The first two visits after SS got his glasses, he did not even bring them with him to our house. Ok, fine, I didn't say anything because that's "not my place," but if these glasses are to prevent a lazy eye then he needs to be wearing them all the time, especially when doing visually straining activities such as reading and playing computer which he does basically all weekend when he is with us. But again, not my place. This weekend, he brought his glasses, but did not wear them even at our suggestion. He put them on long enough to show us what he looked like with them on at his Dad's request. He wore them for about 5 minutes and then promptly took them back off and didn't wear them for the rest of the weekend. When he did have them on, he was looking over the lenses instead of through them. I can tell just by his habits and attitude toward his glasses that he is probably not wearing them very often, and when he does, he is probably not looking through them. To top it all off, SS forgot his glasses at our house at the end of the weekend - again showing how much he does not wear them or even think about them.

I sent an email to BM (I know, I should have known that it wouldn't go well...) basically saying these things and that I would be happy to help develop good vision habits and help SS to understand why it is important for him to wear his glasses as often as possible. I said that if I had access to his eye exam records I would know more about the situation, but even without being told what is going on, I can tell just by looking at his glasses what his prescription is and that one eye is much more farsighted than the other which usually means they're trying to avoid that eye becoming a lazy eye. I was very polite and non-threatening in my email offering to help and explained that as I have so much experience in this field I thought it would be wrong of me to NOT offer my help. I compared it to a doctor witnessing someone choking in a restaurant and doing nothing about it.

So here's the response email I got from BM:
Personally,I feel that you shouldn't have touched his glasses! We've been working on proper wearing habits, etc & don't need the assistance but thanks anyways. You have no need for SS's medical records nor will you have that!

Please tell BF that I need the glasses returned. I realize you wish to involve yourself but no thanks.

Merry christmas.

To put it lightly, this ticked me off. I had gone out of my way to be as polite as possible and she snaps back with this crap. What I love most of all is that she says they "don't need my assistance" and then turns right around and asks me to deliver a message to BF. Uh, no...

My response back to her was probably a little harsher than it should have been, but it just really ticked me off that someone could be so stupid when it comes to their child's healthcare. Hello, you have someone with unlimited access to the eye care field with great resources, information, doctors, you name it, I've got it...but no thanks, we'll handle it on our own without you. How does that make any sense? Why wouldn't someone take advantage of free help especially from someone who has regular interaction with the kid? UGH

At the end of my response email I said:
Oh and by the way, I realize that you want my help in getting the message to BF about SS's glasses needing returned but as you have already stated, my assistance is not needed and is obviously not wanted so you can deliver the message yourself.

Comments

Sita Tara's picture

I'm a former OA!

Never COA, b/c I couldn't afford the exam. But, I don't know that I ever knew you were too.

We had 11 Dr's in every specialty, and our peds guy was a big name in EOMs.

I remember when SD was in a childcare place over the summers that BM insisted she continue with, trying to stick DH with the bill, even wanted her there on our days even though I was home. Especially b/c I was I'm sure.

Anyway...

SD developed conjunctival inflammation and some corneal abrasions from the constant chlorine/high intensity sun exposure while swimming outside all day, every day. I could tell she didn't have full blown viral/allergic/or bacterial conjuntivitis and that her eyes were just severely dry and irritated. So I took her into my office, and sure enough that's what they found. All she needed was to keep her eyes closed/wear goggles (which of course she refused) and some artificial tears.

BM called while we were at the office, furious that DH hadn't taken her to the Pediatrician, who was the "only one qualified" to see SD for anything.

DH said, "Well...I'm pretty sure the OPHTHALMOLOGIST knows more about eyes than the general practice pediatrician. Of course BM was not happy that there weren't antibiotic drops b/c she just knew (she's an RN) that it was conjunctivitis (hello- they only prescribe antibiotic drops IF there's obvious signs of a BACTERIAL infection or a positive culture- most times it's viral/allergic or dry eyes.

Anyway...

Just thought you'd enjoy that similar ophthalmic story.

What do you do in your field?

I left it when I married DH. I don't miss it, but I do miss having a job.

"Parental love is unconditional, relationships are reciprocal." ~Zen

Nymh's picture

Wow, how cool to have a sister formerly in the field! I am a COA. I am refractive surgery coordinator for a private practice. We have an ASC in our central office with one ophthalmologist and 4 satellite offices with OD's and another MD who has retired from surgery. I've been wanting to go for my COT but as I am not a technician anymore I don't think it would really benefit me to get the higher level of certification. I am maintaining my COA though and actually today I'm doing online courses to get the four remaining credits I need because I'm up for recertification on 12/31! EEK

Yeah, we have a pretty stupid BM story related to opthalmology as well - but only by association really. If I worked in a different field it would be related to that field just because that's where I worked. We had to go to my office over the weekend a couple years ago to pick something up while we were in town and had SS with us. BM completely freaked out and called our practice administrator claiming that I had brought SS there to do an eye exam on him, had dispensed medications to him and written prescriptions for him and basically that I was practicing medicine without a license. Our administrator told her that that was ridiculous and not to call back and waste his time. Then she called our ophthalmologist AT HOME and said that she was going to turn him in for Medicaid fraud over this incident. He told her that she was welcome to start as much trouble as she wanted but he wanted her to keep a few things in mind. First, we have never filed any claims to Medicaid or any other insurance company on SS so it would be impossible to get him indicted for fraud. Secondly, we don't even have a chart on SS so it would be impossible to prove that we had ever seen him for anything, and as she had no hard evidence it would also be impossible to prove her allegations about me practicing medicine on SS. Thirdly, as BF is SS's legal guardian, she could not prove any illegal activity if we did see SS as a patient since BF has the right to request medical care for SS. And lastly he cautioned her that he and our administrator are very wealthy, powerful and well-regarded men in our community and she had better think long and hard before she launched an attack on them.

Needless to say that pretty much squelched any effort by her to mess with my workplace after that.

*~So sayeth Nymh~*

Sita Tara's picture

Wow! That's a fantastic story! Good for your admin/Drs to put her in her place like that.

We only ever had one COT in our practice, b/c the test was horrendous. I think if you won't benefit directly from the title, then I'd stick with keeping up the COA. I was going to school for my BA when I worked there (6 years in the field) and just couldn't imagine studying as hard as I would have to on top of my BA coursework, and possibly being out 300 bucks if I failed (our co reimbursed half the test only if you passed it.) Plus, I really think I should have done it after one year in the practice anyway. After that, I learned too much working knowledge and would have been deprogramming myself to cram the textbook knowledge in there.

"I'm in F#CK OFF Mode." ~ Stepmadness

misguided's picture

OMG, that sounds exactly like the BM pos of shit that I deal with. So nasty and petty for no reason. I have only used this word about one other person but I Hate her. I can not stand the tone of her emails and yours sounds the same. I wouldn't waste my time or energy on it. If she is too stupid to be nice to the person who is around her child and has the most impact on his development outside of BM and BD than she deserves it. I love your response btw. Let us know if she responds to it. I could almot write it myself because I am almost positive what she will say.

Nymh's picture

Thank you so much for putting this into words. It really puts a new perspective on her response. What she leaves unsaid really speaks much louder than what she says and unfortunately will have more of a negative impact on SS.

I have seen so many children grow up to be adults with lazy eyes and wish that their parents had made them wear their glasses like they were supposed to, or wish that they understood how important it was to do what the doctor said... I hate to think that that could be SS in a few years and I could have helped so much if only given the chance.

It really is a testament to her true self and the fact that she still has (and always will have) a huge problem with me and my place in BF/SS's life that she will not accept help from me, practically an expert in the field or at least compared to her, solely to spite me and maintain control over the situation.

*~So sayeth Nymh~*

Sara_Smile22's picture

StepAside is 100% correct. The sad reality is the kid is the pawn in these situations...nothing more than a power play. I'm saying this in hindsite because I totally relate and felt just the way you do...I'm an RN, so was always in a position to 'help' when it came to the very young SK's, but this was all very threatening to a BM who was already feeling defensive. If they want you out of the responsibility and parenting loop so badly, go ahead and step out....just don't let them dump the hard or boring stuff on you either. The rewarding part of stepping is when the child bonds with you on their own, they are more likely to do that if you don't have a direct parenting role (since this tends to escalate conflict) and if you are so LUCKY as to not have to get a bunch of responsibility on you, but get to really just be this kids role model....count your blessings. Sorry if I'm naive to your situation...but in both of my instances I have been pushed the responsibility....just not given any respect, authority, or credit....I only wish I had bioparents for my SKids who didn't want to dump all of that on me. I think though...if they didn't give me the responsibility, I wouldnt care to HAVE the authority or credit....so we all win in that situation.

Nymh's picture

BM's response - Misguided asked for me to let you know and ye shall receive:

Nymh,
My issue is that you honestly have no place in my son's life. You are the father's g/f, nothing more or nothing else. I realize that if it weren't for you, SS wouldn't have a place to stay when he has to visit BF, but on the other hand, if it weren't for your and BF's actions, he wouldn't need to be there at all.
We are never going to be friends and both should accept that. I know that I have. I have held both of YOUR girls and have treated them as I would my own kids.
(I said to her in my previous email that she has been welcomed into two of my homes now and has held both of my children, so I think it's time that she stop acting like a child and do what is best for her son.) No child is to have blame placed on them for the actions of adults. I just don't understand why it seems that you feel you have to have a place in SS's life or be a mother to him when you aren't.
BF has been briefed on SS's condition and knows that SS has suffered from strabismus since birth. Put yourself in my place and ask if you'd want me to have info concerning YOUR girls. I think the response would be NO.
I am going to suggest that you watch BF carefully as he's not being as faithful to you as he should be if you are in a committed relationship. I can provide more specifics if you wish. I don't won't to cause problems for you but thought you should be aware.

This is typical BM behavior... She has tried so many times to convince me that BF is cheating on me - most of the time she claims it is with her. She has claimed that he has molested her at SS's birthday parties, that he calls her every day to proclaim his love for her and apologize for everything he has done to her, and even said that they had sex on my desk at the business that BF and I used to operate when I was out running errands in town. And then of course there are the supposed midnight trysts where they do it all night long.

Yeah. Right.

So I wrote back:

I am not SS's mother or a mother figure to him and I never will be. I have no disillusions regarding my role in SS's life or lack thereof, and I feel no need to hold any title to him or have a place in his life or in his heart. The fact of the matter is that regardless of how we got to where we are now or whose "fault" anyone thinks it is, I do have regular interactions with SS and he and I do share a home four or more days a month. This has been the case for a while now and I don't forsee it changing any time soon. I know that everyone has their own feelings, preferences and opinions regarding that fact but I try to leave out emotions and look at things realistically. I think that everyone who is involved with a child should be educated on how best to take care of that child regardless of their label (mother, father, girlfriend, sister, grandparent, teacher, whatever) or personal feelings of others which may be preferential to the contrary. If either of my girls had any sort of medical condition I would want everyone who has regular contact with them to know the details and how to manage them - especially if that person happened to have a background in healthcare since they would be even more qualified to help than the average person. You ask if I would want you personally to have medical information about my girls. You assume that because I am a woman or a mother that I would feel the same way that you do. You have always tried to tell me that if it were the other way around I would do and say the same things or feel the same way. You and I are completely different people on a very deep, fundamental level. There is almost nothing about our personalities, our actions, our feelings, or our reactions to situations that is the same in any aspect of life. Parenthood and relationships are no different. Please do not assume that you can appeal to my feelings as a mother to try to get me to agree with you because, like always, I would not feel or act the same way as you do if the tables were turned. If my girls were going to be staying with you or in your home for any period of time then I would ABSOLUTELY want you to know information about their health and how to manage any conditions that they might have. You have no reason to know these things now as the likelihood of that happening is astronomically low, but if the situation ever presented itself that you would be around my girls in that manner then there would be no if's, and's or but's about it. But then again I am not threatened by your place in my girls' lives and do not feel the need to illustrate or point out to you that I am their mother and you will never be. However even if I did have any ill feelings toward you or resentment for your role in their life (which I do not), my personal feelings are far less important than the health and well being of my children and I will do whatever necessary to ensure that they are as well taken care of as possible in every situation; be it at the babysitter, with their father, with grandparents or friends, at school, whatever.

I have no desire to be your friend, but I will never stop trying to be friendly and helpful. That is my nature. It seems that your nature is to shoot down any attempt that I make to help, citing that I should have no involvement because of how you feel about me or my lack of a role or place in SS's life. Then you tell me what you want out of me thinking that you can have one and not the other.

*~So sayeth Nymh~*

Nymh's picture

*bows* Thank you Smile

What's interesting is that this is how I always am. Everything I write is like that, and all of my emails to her convey a similar message as this one and are written in much the same way. I think it actually has a negative effect on her reaction, however, because she usually snaps back with something that doesn't apply at all to what I said or makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I could imagine her response to this email will most likely resemble, "Why don't you just focus on your kids because you will never get SS! The truth is that SS hates you and always has and always will. He has made comments lately about how his relationship with his dad is suffering now more than ever, and that he wishes the custody order was dropped so that he could only visit when he wants to. He says that he resents you more and more as time goes on. If you really cared about SS you would have no interaction with him whatsoever!"

That is, if it isn't something simple like, "Well you're just a whore and I don't need your help raising MY SON!!!!!!111"

*~So sayeth Nymh~*

Kb3Hooah's picture

Nymph, that was soooo well written!! Such class!! Smile

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“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”