Musings from my Minivan

It's always entertaining for me, when people find out what I do for a living.  It usually goes something like this: 
Them..."What do you do for a living?"
Me...."I'm a pediatrician."
Them..."Really, that's great!  Where do you practice?"
Me, smiling..."Out of my minivan!"
That is usually met with some confused stares and silence, at which point, I explain my housecalls practice to them.  The fun part is hearing the variety of responses.  I've met several new families this week, and in honor of these new relationships, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite moments over the course of the first 7 months in the life of Pediatric Housecalls.
1.  Child..."Mommy, when is the doctor going to be here?"
     Mother..."Honey, this is the doctor."
     Child...(silently looking me up and down)..."No mommy, the real doctor."
2.  I am not sure why, but for some reason, I have about an 80% rate of kids asking me to come see their
     playroom after I'm done examining them.  This is usually followed by about a 99% rate of horrified looks
     on their parents' faces, as the thought of a pediatrician walking unannounced into their playroom dashes
     through their mind in slow-motion.  Since the playroom in my own house always looks like a page out of
     the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, complete with organized and labeled baskets (not!), and only filled with
     uber-educational books, games, and puzzles (not!), I typically politely decline the offer.  And then
     exchange silent smiles of relief with the mother.
3.  I always let the kids pick where they'd like to be examined.  Usually they choose the couch, a
     comfortable chair, the floor, their bed...but not this 5 year old little boy...no, he had a sense of humor
     way beyond his years, as he stared me dead-serious in the eyes and said, "How 'bout inside my firetruck
     tent?"  I could hear his mom laughing behind me as we climbed inside.
4.  And lastly, here's my true modern-day 2011 version of an episode on Little House on the Prarie.
     At 7:50pm on a Tuesday night, a mom called me to see if I could come see her son, who had fallen
     asleep earlier that evening, but who had now awoken in tears, complaining of ear pain.  Within 15
     minutes, I was on her doorstep, tiptoed upstairs to his bedroom, diagnosed an ear infection, gave him
     some pain reliever and his first dose of antibiotic, and emailed his prescription to the pharmacy, all
     while he never got out of his bed, his little sister was still happily sleeping down the hallway, and his
     mother didn't have to get out of her sweats to drag 2 kids out of bed (her husband was out of town) to 
     go to an urgent care. I have to admit, I felt a little like Doc Baker, pulling up in a rainstorm on his
     horse and carriage, to take care of sick little Nellie Olsen.  OK, so there were a few minor differences,
     like the fact that Doc Baker didn't have a GPS system (or a car, for that matter), Nellie's dad was in the
     barn throwing hay, not in Japan on business, and the treatment of choice was something like quinine
     and rubbing alcohol instead of a bubblegum-flavored antibiotic, but hey, it was close enough!
I truly LOVE what I do for a living, and it's stories like these that make it all the more fun!  I may have an
unconventional practice, and I may throw people for a loop when they hear what I do, but I wouldn't go back to traditional practice ever again.  This is way too entertaining!