The worth of a well-check

In sickness and in health, finding the humanity in healthcare.

For 16 years, I’ve taken my kids to the same pediatrician in South Austin.

They’ve been pretty healthy kids, so we mostly see Dr. D, I’ll call her, for their annual well-checks.

I try to book their appointments together because I think they enjoy the companionship of doing it together and it takes all afternoon to pick them up from school, bring them to the office and then back home, especially now that we live on the opposite side of town. 

We could get a new doctor closer to where we live, but there’s no chance I’d change at this point. Our doc has become a familiar face over the years, a reliable comadre in the village raising my children. And our most recent visit reminded me the value of these check-ups.

I found her via Google way back in 2007, when Julian was a lil’ pup, with soft, dark hair and an angel’s kiss birthmark on his left temple. I was a baby myself, just 23 and feeling like a newborn adult, not nearly old enough to be searching for a pediatrician and definitely unaware that she would become such a big part of our lives.

Only 13 months earlier, I’d walked across the stage at the University of Missouri to accept my journalism degree, and here I was, walking with a carseat in hand.