Thursday, August 31, 2006

Faith and Healing

I struggled for the longest time to find a doctor I liked, a doctor that wasn't afraid to let their morals dictate how they practiced. I was tired of the stupid Kaiser physicans saying that the sympto-thermal method and the rhythm method were the same thing. Or being asked when I went in to confirm that I was pregnant if I was going to keep the baby. Or them making me feel irresponsible because I wouldn't consent to having a shot to terminate the pregnancy when they kind of sort of suspected that I might be having an ectopic pregnancy. Or when stupid Dr. Nixon suggested that I think of plan B to prevent the pregnancy from being ectopic (which you can't prevent anyways, so you know what she really meant by "prevent") if I "made a mistake" and got pregnant (Can you tell I hate Kaiser?). I am so tired of all the crap that you have to put up with and how doctors start to worry so much about their own asses and getting sued that they don't stop to think of the patient's needs anymore. I myself am in the healthcare field and I confess, it took a while (and a long debate at the beach with my family), for me to realize that I don't have to just turn a blind eye and keep my faith out of my work. On the contrary, I now strive to be characterized by my faith. I wear a cross to work, I tell my patients I pray for them, I talk about God's will when consoling my patients and their families. It is who I am. And if those patients have a problem with it or with me, then they can go see someone else. I am not going to change who I am just so that I don't offend someone.

But I'm getting off topic. My mom always talked about her doctor and how their were images of the Virgina Mary in the clinic. It sounded like exactly what I needed, except I was in Atlanta and my parents are in DC. After contacting some NFP teachers, I was blessed to find Dr. Raviele. This morning I was reading the Washington Post online and found this article. The cool thing is it talks about my mom's doctor, and my doctor here in Atlanta is also quoted. I hope that more and more practices like this continue to open.

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