The certified letter.

To say I am shocked is basically an understatement. I knew all along that it was a possibility - but, I haven't heard a word from anyone, so I thought all was ok. To be honest, I had forgotten about it. Then the letter, as well as a certified copy, arrived today.

The purpose of this letter is to notify you that we will no longer be responsible for the medical care of your children effective 30 days from the receipt of this letter. **The letter is dated August 4, 2009, but the date stamp on the envelope is dated August 25, 2009. They waited 21 days to mail? I actually received the letter August 27th or 28th. Nonetheless, we lost approximately 24 dates of being seen, if need be. Intentional? Documented.

We, with input from medical staff, have come to this difficult decision for the following reason:

Due to difference of philosophy regarding the practice of medicine.

The letter goes on to list some phone numbers for physician referrals (which I will utilize) & says they will be happy to transfer medical records.

In closing:

Finally, we and the staff at ********* Pediatrics have strived to provide the highest quality pediatric medical care possible for your children. We sincerely wish you and your family well in the future.

Respectfully.

I guess what disappoints me the most is how they chose to notify us. We have been at the same pediatric office for 6 - 6 1/2 years. We have built a rapport with them, or so I thought. I thought we have had an awesome relationship with them for many years. If they didn't agree with us for refusing and/or declining one vaccination, couldn't they have phoned us to let us know of their decision and/or position? Not even the courtesy of a phone call? That part I truly don't understand. What it does let me know is that we were simply a 'number' to them & there was no relationship. I was wrong.

In the letter, they also state that they will no longer treat all of our children. I am baffled. ALL of our children are up-to-date and current on all vaccinations. Prior to this, we have not declined or refused a vaccination. All of our children have received all vaccinations as recommended by the Board of Pediatrics.

This is one isolated incident. The state of Texas is now requiring a 2nd chicken pox vaccination, which Audi needed, in order to enter Kindergarten. Because he has been vaccinated for the chicken pox, we felt it not necessary to vaccinate him again. So we opted out. The state of Texas provided the form for us to opt out.

If their (pediatrician) rules & regulations state they will no longer see patients if any vaccination is refused, ok. We will definitely respect their guidelines. But we refused one vaccination, for Audi, that was required by the state. What I don't understand is why they would refuse to treat my other three children...? Like stated, they are all current & never have we refused any vaccination. I don't see how that's legal.

I've had time to think about it & all is ok. Even though sad & disappointed, I know that we must do for our children what we think is best. If we don't feel comfortable adding yet another chemical in our childrens bodies, for no apparent reason, then that is our decision. And if that means locating another pediatrician, who (hopefully) agrees with us & supports us, then so be it. We always hope to have our childrens best interest at heart, whether it involves vaccinations or not. The truth of that matter is - if we had to do it all over again - our children would only have received certain vaccinations that we deemed necessary and/or beneficial. Which means we obviously would have refused some, & so we wouldn't be with our current pediatrician anyway. But we were 'new' parents, followed all the rules & vaccinated our children. You live & you learn. I am a firm believer it is "never to late" & that is exactly our intent from this point forward.

Hubby is furious. If you know my husband, it takes quite a bit to ruffle his feathers. He's actually making me giggle because he's so bent out of shape over this. He wants to sue our pediatrician for "Parental Rights". LOL Funny guy.

So our hunt for a new pediatrician begins. I know there are many parents currently choosing what vaccinations to allow their children, so it's quite obvious those same parents are refusing certain shots. They all have pediatricians, which is encouraging. Mercedes is possibly due for another round at her 2 year well check up (as well as 3 & 4 year well check ups). I have some time to do some research to see if we actually want to administer those particular vaccinations, or opt out. It may be too late for the older three (meaning, all the vaccinations they received as infants/toddlers), but it's not too late to end unnecessary chemicals from entering Mercedes' system. Should the other three need more vaccinations for whatever reason(s), such as Audi needing one to enter K, those will all be monitored, researched & the final decision will be made by us.

This may be a new chapter, & there is a lot of research to be done, but it feels good. Our pediatrician releasing us is a blessing in disguise. And I have total peace about moving forward. ☺