Years ago I had a doctor tell me that he was going to do some procedure on one of my kids whether I liked it or not. I calmly explained to him that I knew where he lived, could hunt him down, and would definitely beat the ass off him if he so much as touched my kid. I then took the kid and left. Had he called the police I would have followed through, hunted him down and beat the ass off him.
I would have been bailed out of jail long before he would have gotten out of the hospital.
Sometimes actions speak louder than words. Power trips need to be confronted with even greater power trips.
I am frankly surprised that the father hasn’t already kicked this doctors butt.
1. Any child under 2 months old with a fever has meningitis or sepsis until proven otherwise...their immune systems are not well developed so they must be treated quickly or they can die or be seriously disabled. That’s standard of care and not doing it is negligent.
2.Spinal taps in infants are easier than drawing blood.
3.The only alternative would have been for the child to be admitted and treated for meningitis/sepsis without a clear diagnosis...a 10 day or so course of IV antibiotics.
4.As an ER doc, I wouldn’t have let the mom take the baby out of the hospital, (I’ve done it, and I am legally obligated to do it if I think the child is in danger) but if she still refused the tap, I’d have started antibiotics and gotten the child admitted and let the pediatricians deal with the fallout.
5. This is why I cringe every time I see a teeny-tiny out in public when they are only a few weeks old, a random virus causing them to run fever can set this whole thing in motion.
O2