Mama Knows Best

To Whom It May Concern,

Where does one begin to explain to you all of your failures?

Four months ago when my daughter became infected with Giardia, you took interest in her case for all of three weeks. Her parasite was like a shiny new object and once you became bored, you tossed her case to the side. I have been battling with your people since the beginning, trying to find the source of the problem. And do you know how many people were willing to help me? One. Her name is Cami and to be quite honest, she is an amazing woman/nurse and deserves a raise. She has been battling right along side of us, at least until the big guys put their feet down.

When my daughter Addison’s first test came back positive, I was okay with the idea of medicating her and moving on with our lives. It wasn’t until the second, third and now fourth test came back positive that I became angry with the health department. Here’s the thing, after Addison’s second positive test, I inquired about having our water tested and then the third test came back and despite three positive tests, you decided to ignore my requests.  As you can imagine, I became a mama scorned.

I decided to take matters into my own hands when a phone call from the pediatrician’s office came trough to inform me that Addison now had a fourth positive test. Are you reading this? FOUR POSITIVE TESTS!  Immediately after the fourth positive, I called up to our local health department and demanded that our water source be tested.  Within 24 hours, we had samples to their office for them to be shipped.  Knowing of your previous negligence, I decided to put my entire family through testing- Ethan, myself and the cat. Results started flowing in.. Meep was negative, Ethan is positive and we are still awaiting my results.

After a phone call from Cami with the results of our water, which by the way, has tested positive for coliforms– all of a sudden this parasite became a big deal (we have city water). And here’s the real reason behind my undeniable anger. Had the State of Michigan been more pro-active from the beginning in helping me find the source to the problem, we could have avoided a potential city wide issue.

Do you have any idea how much of an emotional roller coaster we have been riding? Do you know the upset, hurt and frustration that comes along with this diagnosis? Because of your negligence, my daughter was put through more testing than she should have had to endure and my son was separated from his family during several visits to the doctors office and laboratory.

So thank you, State of Michigan, for neglecting my daughter for the past two and one half months. Thank you for letting us know how you really feel about the children of the future.

Sincerely,

One Angry Mama