From Coffee to Salsa to Acorn Pediatrics

This is John.

The other night we discovered Jack LOVES coffee.  In truth, he likes to drink stuff out a of a coffee cup.  In truth, the coffee cup is just small plastic mug with a handle like a coffee cup.  He drinks milk or water out of it and loves every sip.  Routinely giving a ::gulp:: “ahhh” like out of some Folger’s commercial. 

Well, on Saturday night, he was drinking his “coffee” and decided to spill it on the floor.  He was told not to spill it and if he did, we were going to take it away.  He likes to do it on purpose.  Anyway, he spills it.  I take it away.  Then this happens. 

That happened for about 30 minutes.  Non-stop…this is toward the end of it, so hence the coughing.  I’d cough too if I cried that hard about my coffee being taking away.

Then we asked him if he wanted some salsa.  He loves salsa, so we thought this might settle him down without giving into his demands.

Well, shortly after we gave him salsa, but he didn’t eat it he started tugging at his ear.  We figured out it was an ear ache and nothing is more frustrating than an ear ache on the weekend when the only choice is a doc in the box and possibly a long wait.

We recently switched our pediatrician to a place called Acorn Pediatrics.  It’s a new practice run by Dr. Sarah Bourland and it was the best decision we have made in a long time.  (The investment in Greek bonds didn’t turn out like I thought it would.)

Jack had been in to see her a week before for a rash. This was on a Friday and she said to Molly, “If it looks bad tomorrow, then call me and we’ll get him on a prescription.”  It didn’t look any worse, but the fact she told us to call her on the weekend we thought was strange.  Well, now we actually had an issue a doctor would need to help with, so Molly called the doctors office.

The voicemail was the doctor’s voice and it ended,  “Leave me a message and I’ll return your call in 20 minutes or less.”  20 Minutes?  On a weekend?  We thought it was a mistake… then 10 minutes later our phone rang. 

It was Dr. Bourland.  Molly explained what was going on.  She said Jack needed to see someone, that the doc in the box she worked at that weekend had a 3 hour wait, so “I’m going up to my office right now, so why don’t you meet me there and I’ll take a look at him?” 

Ok.  So the following things happened:

• The week before she asked us to call HER on the weekend.
• The next week we call her on a Saturday evening and its her voice on the answering machine saying she’ll return the call within 20 minutes.
• She returned the call in 10 minutes.
• She had us come to her office on a Saturday night to check up on him for an ear ache.

This was incredible.  We liked our previous doctor, but this customer service was out of control.  Something about doctors offices and their staff and they attitude they have with you.  It’s seriously 1) The DMV, 2) Airline Employees 3) Doctor Office Staffs… so we just figured it was all like this.  We were wrong.

Acorn Pediatrics and Dr. Bourland are out of this world awesome.  She’s new, so she is working with a smaller patient base, but my goodness she has our kids in her care for as long as their kids… that’s a guarantee.