I usually give complete support of our pediatrician and his staff, but my toddler's past well-check is causing me to doubt.Supposedly our zip code is included in the high-risk area for lead poisoning, so the doctor had his office do a lead test on my toddler. That required a blood test, which as the nurse described, wouldn't hurt but just be a long process with the initial finger prick and then the drop by drop collection of my little one's blood. She pulled out a collection vial about half the size of my pinky, pricked my little one's finger as my strong-willed toddler protested with all her might, and tried to squeeze the blood out of her finger and collect it in the vial. However, what ensued was more of a screaming, fighting, and restrained toddler against two nurses and the vial . . . for fifteen minutes, with blood all over my toddler's and my hands. To top it off, several hours later, I learned that the blood sample was not free-flowing enough to be properly tested and was asked to go to Children's for another blood sample.
I'm not so much upset and frustrated with the doctor's office, although I do question the professionalism and the competency of the nurse who attempted to collect the blood sample. But I'm thinking there's got to be a better way to test for lead poisoning in children, like blood samples for diabetics. Although I don't think the doctor will let us hold off until then.
