Replies to '07/11 What’s Up, Doc?'

Quote From: music__girl

I just saw the show and I can't even describe my feelings!  In the first few minutes when the docs were discussing their views on how the parents of this special needs child stunted her growth in order to continue to care for her.   The OB doc said something about how she would climb over mountains with her child to avoid doing anything like this?  I couldn't believe it.  First of all, unless her child is disabled, she has no clue what she would do or how she would handle the situation.  I completely sympathize with the stand these parents took on stunting their daughter's growth.  Do I agree with it?  It doesn't matter.  Given these circumstances, I can't imagine what I would do.  I do, however, understand their concerns.  My child was diagnosed with cancer at 11mths old and developed  a debilitating neurological disease as a result of the tumor.  He was on high dose steroids and weighed nearly 100 lbs at 4 years old.  He also couldn't walk and was severely impaired both mentally and physically.  He couldn't ride in a stroller because his depth perception was compromised and he felt like he was falling so he had to be held very close to us in order for him to feel safe and secure.  I know what carrying a child around day in and day out can do to your body.  I also cried myself to sleep night after night wondering what I would do in years to come when his body grew larger than mine.  Like those parents, I knew I never wanted to institutionalize my child.   Would I have ever gone to these lengths?  I still don't have an answer to that question.  By the grace of God, I've never had to answer it.  My son recovered and is now 10 years old and is walking independently.  This poor child in question never will.  I was one of the lucky ones.  I would, without a doubt, carry my child over a mountain if I could.  Every good parent says that.  But what if that very child weighed 50lbs or 100lbs more than the parent?  Physics says it would never happen.  So how dare this highly educated physician OF WOMEN say something so horrible.  But, how could she even know what she was saying if she had never faced it herself?  Hmmm....