It's so hard for restaurants to make it and survive. About 26% conservatively (more likely somewhere in between 43% to 60%)* fail within the first year. And, in today's economy it is even more of a challenge to get people out of their houses and to a restaurant. Jeff and I hit a goldmine over the weekend and I want to shout it out to the world. CHOICES BY SHAWN in Fairfax VA. It is in the heart of Fairfax City, where The Sweet Life Cafe used to be. What a fantastic find!!
As reported earlier in my blogging, The Girls threw a party to celebrate the engagement of Jennifer and Karim. As a thank you, they sent the hosts a gift certificate to redeem on Restaurant.com's website. It was there that I discovered a restaurant I never previously heard of. The listing mentioned they cater to those individuals with gluten sensitivities. No way!! I couldn't believe what I was reading. OMG! The decision to go there was easy and the next date night Jeff and I had would find us there for dinner.
Our first attempt didn't go too well when we tried a few weeks prior and found they were closed for a private event. But this time I called twice; once on Friday to confirm they were open to the public and again on Saturday to confirm they were still open despite the snow the D.C. area experienced. Success!!!
The menu in person looked as good as it did online. The gluten-free gnocchi was no longer an option, but I inquired with the waitress about it and she said they had it. Yay! We put our order in and waited. The owner came to our table to tell us that yes, they do have GF gnocchi but it needs to be called in the day before as they make it special. She told me they would be able to fulfill my order as someone had called in the request earlier. But next time, know to call the day before to request it.
My entree came with a salad or soup and a side. I ordered broccoli/cheese soup, gnocchi and a side of fries. Can you say comfort food!?!? On this chilly, snowy night, it was the perfect meal! I have to admit, I would find this the perfect meal even on a beautiful day in Summer. :)
Jeff, not needing to keep it gluten-free ordered an appetizer of crab cakes, salad, rib-eye steak and mashed potatoes.
I was duly impressed when the waitress came back to our table and told me that they were making gluten-free bread and would bring some to the table when it was ready. Until then, Jeff didn't get served his bread yet either. Moments later both our baskets of bread arrived. I could get used to service like this!
For dessert we were offered a nice size list of many gluten-free choices. Jeff and I decided to split the fudge cake with chocolate frosting, complete with a side of homemade vanilla chocolate-chip ice cream. YUM-O!
As we all know, I have a big mouth. I am going to use it for good and help get the word out about CHOICES BY SHAWN. I would really love to see it succeed and know that I have an excellent place to go that is only 4 miles from our house (I used to run there in my training runs!) and offers a great selection of safe food that I can eat. I always use to say, "When you see gnocchi on a menu, you need to look no further." Now I can call in advance and get it made special for me. Love is in the air more than just where Jennifer and Karim are concerned. Bon Appetite!
Choices By Shawn
3950 Chain Bridge Rd., Fairfax, VA, 22038
(703) 385-5433 phone
*Source: The Restaurant-Failure Myth (Business Week: Special report 4/16/07)
Showing posts with label Celiac disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Celiac disease. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Adventures with Celiac continues II
I think this week I actually got my Celiac groove on! I picked much simpler recipes to make for dinner, with the emphasis on it not taking 1.5 to 2 hours to prepare.
Sunday
GF Pizza Crust - I tried a new recipe. This one was listed in the 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes Cookbook. I never had to use a food processor before when making pizza dough, but I followed the instructions and it turned out. In fact, we all found the pizza to be very tasty. Usually there is easily a piece or two left for Ian to take to lunch bunch at school the next day. This evening, we were all wanting 2nds and 3rds. It was that good. Yay! Now the next time I make the dough, I can make a much bigger batch and freeze it for subsequent pizza and game nights. It will be a breeze to roll out the pre-made dough and get it in the oven.
Monday
Chicken Parmesan - this was yummy and so easy to make. It helps that Wegmans sells gluten-free bread crumbs.
Tuesday
Jeff had a Happy Hour for work and once I got done feeding the kids a nutritious dinner, I got to indulge in my favorite single girl dinner - popcorn!
Wednesday
Black Bean Enchiladas with rice - Another winner! And the recipe had me making the enchilada sauce from scratch too. It was very tasty. Easy to prepare in advance and just put in the oven 20 minutes before we sat down to eat.
Thursday
Baked Aloha Pineapple Chicken - My time management on getting this recipe done was off by 2 hours. While I cooked it, Jeff fed the kids dinner, played with them a bit, gave them their baths, read them stories, put them to bed and then we ate this dish. It was easy to make, but took forever to cook. I LOVED it! Jeff, however, was not a fan. It's a shame too, because he had to wait so long to eat that night. :)
Friday
Ian's religious school was having a special Shabbat dinner and family-friendly service. Because of the late start time, Jeff took Ian and I stayed home with Sam. I ate an Amy's gluten-free frozen meal for dinner.
Saturday
Ian had his first sleep-over and I wanted to make a dinner that I knew would be a winner with Ian and his friend. I did spaghetti, salad and bread. I used regular spaghetti for everyone and boiled a small batch of gluten-free pasta for me. And, in an act of self-control, I stayed away from the bread.
Sunday
GF Pizza Crust - I tried a new recipe. This one was listed in the 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes Cookbook. I never had to use a food processor before when making pizza dough, but I followed the instructions and it turned out. In fact, we all found the pizza to be very tasty. Usually there is easily a piece or two left for Ian to take to lunch bunch at school the next day. This evening, we were all wanting 2nds and 3rds. It was that good. Yay! Now the next time I make the dough, I can make a much bigger batch and freeze it for subsequent pizza and game nights. It will be a breeze to roll out the pre-made dough and get it in the oven.
Monday
Chicken Parmesan - this was yummy and so easy to make. It helps that Wegmans sells gluten-free bread crumbs.
Tuesday
Jeff had a Happy Hour for work and once I got done feeding the kids a nutritious dinner, I got to indulge in my favorite single girl dinner - popcorn!
Wednesday
Black Bean Enchiladas with rice - Another winner! And the recipe had me making the enchilada sauce from scratch too. It was very tasty. Easy to prepare in advance and just put in the oven 20 minutes before we sat down to eat.
Thursday
Baked Aloha Pineapple Chicken - My time management on getting this recipe done was off by 2 hours. While I cooked it, Jeff fed the kids dinner, played with them a bit, gave them their baths, read them stories, put them to bed and then we ate this dish. It was easy to make, but took forever to cook. I LOVED it! Jeff, however, was not a fan. It's a shame too, because he had to wait so long to eat that night. :)
Friday
Ian's religious school was having a special Shabbat dinner and family-friendly service. Because of the late start time, Jeff took Ian and I stayed home with Sam. I ate an Amy's gluten-free frozen meal for dinner.
Saturday
Ian had his first sleep-over and I wanted to make a dinner that I knew would be a winner with Ian and his friend. I did spaghetti, salad and bread. I used regular spaghetti for everyone and boiled a small batch of gluten-free pasta for me. And, in an act of self-control, I stayed away from the bread.
Sometime during the week, Jeff came up with the idea that the slow cooker may be the way to go for making dinner a few of the nights each week. I can't believe I hadn't thought of this myself. I guess there is a reason I keep him around. :) I did a quick Google search and found some awesome Slow Cooker Gluten-Free recipes listed online. Next week I'll be making a minestrone soup and a chicken with rice & vegetables in the slow cooker. Plus, as luck would have it, I had a friend email a Thai Chicken recipe that goes in the slow cooker and only contained gluten-free ingredients.
I think I am getting a handle on cooking gluten-free. There are many benefits to eating this way and it is causing me to really stop and think what we are putting in our bodies. I just hope my enthusiasm continues.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Adventures with Celiac
In an effort to embrace my new way of eating, I ordered 3 cookbooks online (got to love Amazon) so that my family and I would have something on the table for dinner each night. It has been one interesting culinary adventure after another. I think the term that can best sum up this past week is "OY!"
The titles of these cookbooks held a lot of promise:
The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen
1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes
Gluten-Free Baking Classics for the Bread Machine
Next to the microwave, our bread machine was the most used appliance in our kitchen. I was known to easily bake 1 to 2 loaves a week. There is nothing better than a fresh baked loaf of bread and getting to control the ingredients you put in it is the icing on the cake. Getting the diagnosis of Celiac really put the kibosh on my bread making and the bread machine has sat lonely and unused for the better part of the last 2 months. Finding the cookbook Gluten-Free Baking Classics for the Bread Machine made my heart sing again.
Let me just say, I was a little dismayed at the size of the bread machine book that arrived. I would say it is more like a thick pamphlet. Pre-Celiac, my go-to bread machine cookbook was The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook; it totals 643 pages. This new Celiac approved way of making bread cookbook was all of 72 pages. Dare I tell you it takes until page 22 before the recipes begin? In the interest of full disclosure, The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook does have a small gluten-free section - there are 6 recipes included.
Armed and dangerous with my new ammo, I sat down last Saturday night and planned out a week's worth of dinners. Sunday is always pizza and game night at our house and Ian and I make the pizza dough from scratch. I looked up a new gluten-free pizza dough to try and wrote down all the ingredients needed. The rest of the week was a wild card and I concentrated on the gluten-free vegetarian cookbook first to get meal ideas out of.
Sunday
Cornmeal Pizza Crust - This tasted like pizza sitting on cornbread. Yuck! Not at all what we are used to and everyone agreed I will need to go back to the drawing board on finding a new pizza dough recipe. Fortunately I made an awesome salad to go with this and it saved Jeff & I from hunger that night.
Monday
Tacos and Burritos - No recipe needed for a fun, festive meal. Taco-seasoned chicken, rice, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, chips -- need I say more?
Tuesday
Spaghetti Squash Primavera - I never ate spaghetti squash before, much less cooked with one. This took me over 1.5 hours to make (not including the 1 hour bake time the squash needed in the oven first). Oh my! I do find it fascinating how the spaghetti squash does a really good job of impersonating real spaghetti. This recipe was chock-full of fresh vegetables and very tasty. I liked it. Jeff didn't. And as much as Jeff hates to waste food, he couldn't even finish what was on his plate and had to turn to foraging in the refrigerator to eat that night.
Wednesday
Zucchini Risotto Pie with Rosemary and Marinara Sauce - Even though it is billed as a 'main dish', I do not believe it had enough umph to be considered the entree. I think this recipe would make a stellar side dish. It was very tasty and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Jeff did finish eating it for dinner, but turned-down the opportunity to take leftovers for lunch the next day (this is my true test for knowing how much he liked the dish). I would make this again, but only when time is not a factor (it was time consuming) and as a great, tasty side the next time we have company for dinner.
Thursday
Five-Ingredient Potato Lasagna - I have to be honest, I got excited when I saw the title to this recipe. I LOVE POTATOES! All kinds (fried, baked, sweet, boiled, etc). There isn't a potato I met I didn't like. Now this recipe was a breeze to prepare, but it didn't set like a lasagna is supposed to. I gave it the 10 minutes it asked for at the end and still it was very soupy and had an extremely runny consistency. I brought it to the table and gave Jeff and I each a portion. Immediately Ian said he wasn't going try that. Jeff took one look at his plate and agreed with him that he wouldn't have to take the obligatory bite we make him try. (side note: Ian is on one heckuva chicken nugget run and this is what he has for dinner each night. We do make him try one bite of whatever it is we are having. Samantha has a little of everything and is already proven to be more adventurous). I personally have no desire to make this dish again, but I was pleasantly taken aback when Jeff said he would put the rest in Tupperware containers and take it for lunch. Wow.
Friday
Pasta with pesto sauce, pine nuts and broccoli with a fresh baked loaf of gluten-free bread - this dinner is something I used to make before in my pre-celiac days. It is a winner with the whole family and even Ian will eat it with us. All I had to do was get gluten-free pasta in its place. Baking gluten-free bread is new territory for me and it required me to manually program my bread machine for this recipe. I was taking a huge leap of faith that it really would be necessary to cut out the knead 2, rise 2 and rise 3 cycles from baking this loaf. The end result didn't look like any loaf I've made before. It was small and compact looking and the color seemed off. The gluten-free pasta taste was pleasantly masked by the pesto sauce. Overall, I'd say this dish was a big success. Jeff even mentioned that he really liked the bread. I am not sure I am such a convert yet.
Lessons learned - I need to find simpler recipes. While it is good to try new things, it might be best to limit myself to one or two per week. It was a little overwhelming going to Wegman's getting the ingredients for 6 nights of dinners. I do want to point out that we haven't eaten this healthy for these many nights in a row EVER! All of the dinners were heavy on fresh vegetables and spices. In fact, there were so many vegetables used, that I didn't know what kind of sides to put with some of this stuff. I still have yet to walk away from this week with a new recipe I am dying to make again. My adventures with Celiac continues...
The titles of these cookbooks held a lot of promise:
The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen
1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes
Gluten-Free Baking Classics for the Bread Machine
Next to the microwave, our bread machine was the most used appliance in our kitchen. I was known to easily bake 1 to 2 loaves a week. There is nothing better than a fresh baked loaf of bread and getting to control the ingredients you put in it is the icing on the cake. Getting the diagnosis of Celiac really put the kibosh on my bread making and the bread machine has sat lonely and unused for the better part of the last 2 months. Finding the cookbook Gluten-Free Baking Classics for the Bread Machine made my heart sing again.
Let me just say, I was a little dismayed at the size of the bread machine book that arrived. I would say it is more like a thick pamphlet. Pre-Celiac, my go-to bread machine cookbook was The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook; it totals 643 pages. This new Celiac approved way of making bread cookbook was all of 72 pages. Dare I tell you it takes until page 22 before the recipes begin? In the interest of full disclosure, The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook does have a small gluten-free section - there are 6 recipes included.
Armed and dangerous with my new ammo, I sat down last Saturday night and planned out a week's worth of dinners. Sunday is always pizza and game night at our house and Ian and I make the pizza dough from scratch. I looked up a new gluten-free pizza dough to try and wrote down all the ingredients needed. The rest of the week was a wild card and I concentrated on the gluten-free vegetarian cookbook first to get meal ideas out of.
Sunday
Cornmeal Pizza Crust - This tasted like pizza sitting on cornbread. Yuck! Not at all what we are used to and everyone agreed I will need to go back to the drawing board on finding a new pizza dough recipe. Fortunately I made an awesome salad to go with this and it saved Jeff & I from hunger that night.
Monday
Tacos and Burritos - No recipe needed for a fun, festive meal. Taco-seasoned chicken, rice, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, chips -- need I say more?
Tuesday
Spaghetti Squash Primavera - I never ate spaghetti squash before, much less cooked with one. This took me over 1.5 hours to make (not including the 1 hour bake time the squash needed in the oven first). Oh my! I do find it fascinating how the spaghetti squash does a really good job of impersonating real spaghetti. This recipe was chock-full of fresh vegetables and very tasty. I liked it. Jeff didn't. And as much as Jeff hates to waste food, he couldn't even finish what was on his plate and had to turn to foraging in the refrigerator to eat that night.
Wednesday
Zucchini Risotto Pie with Rosemary and Marinara Sauce - Even though it is billed as a 'main dish', I do not believe it had enough umph to be considered the entree. I think this recipe would make a stellar side dish. It was very tasty and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Jeff did finish eating it for dinner, but turned-down the opportunity to take leftovers for lunch the next day (this is my true test for knowing how much he liked the dish). I would make this again, but only when time is not a factor (it was time consuming) and as a great, tasty side the next time we have company for dinner.
Thursday
Five-Ingredient Potato Lasagna - I have to be honest, I got excited when I saw the title to this recipe. I LOVE POTATOES! All kinds (fried, baked, sweet, boiled, etc). There isn't a potato I met I didn't like. Now this recipe was a breeze to prepare, but it didn't set like a lasagna is supposed to. I gave it the 10 minutes it asked for at the end and still it was very soupy and had an extremely runny consistency. I brought it to the table and gave Jeff and I each a portion. Immediately Ian said he wasn't going try that. Jeff took one look at his plate and agreed with him that he wouldn't have to take the obligatory bite we make him try. (side note: Ian is on one heckuva chicken nugget run and this is what he has for dinner each night. We do make him try one bite of whatever it is we are having. Samantha has a little of everything and is already proven to be more adventurous). I personally have no desire to make this dish again, but I was pleasantly taken aback when Jeff said he would put the rest in Tupperware containers and take it for lunch. Wow.
Friday
Pasta with pesto sauce, pine nuts and broccoli with a fresh baked loaf of gluten-free bread - this dinner is something I used to make before in my pre-celiac days. It is a winner with the whole family and even Ian will eat it with us. All I had to do was get gluten-free pasta in its place. Baking gluten-free bread is new territory for me and it required me to manually program my bread machine for this recipe. I was taking a huge leap of faith that it really would be necessary to cut out the knead 2, rise 2 and rise 3 cycles from baking this loaf. The end result didn't look like any loaf I've made before. It was small and compact looking and the color seemed off. The gluten-free pasta taste was pleasantly masked by the pesto sauce. Overall, I'd say this dish was a big success. Jeff even mentioned that he really liked the bread. I am not sure I am such a convert yet.
Lessons learned - I need to find simpler recipes. While it is good to try new things, it might be best to limit myself to one or two per week. It was a little overwhelming going to Wegman's getting the ingredients for 6 nights of dinners. I do want to point out that we haven't eaten this healthy for these many nights in a row EVER! All of the dinners were heavy on fresh vegetables and spices. In fact, there were so many vegetables used, that I didn't know what kind of sides to put with some of this stuff. I still have yet to walk away from this week with a new recipe I am dying to make again. My adventures with Celiac continues...
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
One letter changes everything
No one was more shocked than me when my phone rang at 5:45pm on Monday afternoon. It was the office manager of the GI doctor's office, letting me know she appreciated my letter very much and wanted to thank me for writing my concerns. She told me that they are rearranging the way they schedule patients for Dr. X so that in the event he gets held up at the hospital no one will be kept waiting excessively.
OMG!!! I couldn't believe my ears and was seriously impressed with how to heart this doctor and his practice were wanting to make things right. And to take the time to let me know the effect it was having was beyond fantastic.
I feel great and love knowing that patients everywhere may wait a little less to see the doctor because of me. I was smiling after getting the call from the doctor himself on Friday and have an even bigger smile on my face from getting the call from the office manager telling me their new way of scheduling. All because of my letter. The power of the written word. Woo-hoo!
OMG!!! I couldn't believe my ears and was seriously impressed with how to heart this doctor and his practice were wanting to make things right. And to take the time to let me know the effect it was having was beyond fantastic.
I feel great and love knowing that patients everywhere may wait a little less to see the doctor because of me. I was smiling after getting the call from the doctor himself on Friday and have an even bigger smile on my face from getting the call from the office manager telling me their new way of scheduling. All because of my letter. The power of the written word. Woo-hoo!
Monday, September 21, 2009
They don't teach you manners in medical school
Quite a few of my friends have inquired how I am doing with my recent diagnosis of Celiac disease. Now that I've officially been diagnosed, my GI doctor wanted to see me. My appointment was this past Wednesday. The very next day I sent the following letter. I've taken out any personal, identifying information to protect this doctor's identity. Read more of what transpired (after the doctor received the letter) below.
September 17, 2009
Dr. X
Address of doctor
Dear Dr. X:
I take my health very seriously and would like you to know why I won’t be coming back as your patient in the future.
It isn’t because the two appointments I had specifically to meet with you I was kept waiting for more than 1.5 hours on my first visit (and never did get to see you) or kept waiting for 30 minutes on yesterday’s visit. I understand getting held up at the hospital and these things happen. Your whole staff was more than courteous, honest and upfront about it. In fact, it was the way the staff handled your absence the first time that impressed me and caused me to schedule the colonoscopy and endoscopy without formally meeting you.
No, the reason I will not be coming back is specifically the way I felt I was treated on my most recent office visit on Wednesday, September 16, 2009. My appointment was for a follow-up regarding the results to the colonoscopy and endoscopy. The most important aspect was being told I had Celiac disease. I had come to the appointment prepared with many questions. I was trying hard to get a grasp on this diagnosis and understand what it meant for me to have this disease. As you are aware, Celiac is a life changing condition and would mean making many lifestyle changes to accommodate it. Given your unknown return time from the hospital, Jane Doe (name of nurse) was able to assist and answer a good number of the questions I had. If we came to any questions that she couldn’t give me an answer she felt good about, she said to wait and ask you.
Upon your arrival, when it was time for me to ask you the questions I still had lingering, I was taken aback by your abrupt one or two word answers. I don’t feel you took any time to try to answer my concerns or help me understand the condition any better. In my opinion, you were bordering on being rude (and in fact were when you stopped to take a phone call in the middle of my appointment with you). Jane Doe ran circles around you in how she handled the questions I had. It is a shame my appointment wasn’t solely with her as she gives a much better impression of your practice than you do. The one question I still have and feel you completely dismissed in terms of giving me your professional opinion is, “How will I know eating a gluten-free diet will be working? How can I be confident I am doing everything right?”
In addition, I had questions regarding the findings of reflux and the hiatal hernia. However, I was so rattled by your disposition and lack of ‘bedside manner’, that I completely forgot to ask you about them. I had expected you would’ve gone through the findings of the report and wanted to discuss this, in addition to the Celiac diagnosis. Apparently I was wrong. In fact I am now wondering why you even requested a follow-up appointment.
I took this appointment with you very seriously and had arranged a babysitter so that I could give you my full attention and not be trying to juggle and entertain a 15 month old. I am disappointed by the lack of medical insight you gave me and frankly, insulted that my condition didn’t warrant your full attention.
I would like to make it abundantly clear that these reasons stated above are why I will not come back to your offices. Your staff, especially Jane Doe, is all top-notch and excels in customer service. They are a major credit to your practice and I hope you realize how fantastic they are. You, on the other hand, could learn a thing or two from them.
Sincerely,
My name
Cc: Jane Doe and the referring physician
I put the letter in my mailbox on Thursday and come Friday, at 6:00pm, my phone rang. It was Dr. X!! Boy was I surprised and not just because the letter made it to his hands in one day. I really didn't think I would hear back from him. If anything, I thought I would hear from Jane Doe. Dr. X apologized and said I was always welcome to come back. And then we talked. I brought up all my questions and this time he really answered them. We not only spoke about the Celiac, but also the hernia and reflux. It was me who initiated the end of the call. I thanked him, told him I appreciated him calling and hope he has a nice weekend. He reiterated again that I was always welcome to come back.
I've got to say, I feel so good that I wrote this letter and sent it. By Dr. X calling me, he completely did a 180 degree turn on what I thought of him. My perception of him has changed - all by the simple act of picking up the phone and calling me. He was the bigger person and I give him props for doing the right thing. Who knows, maybe he was having a bad day and was a little off during my office visit with him? But, I felt it was important for Dr. X to know the effect he had on me. This visit was a big deal for me and I wanted him to know that I matter.
I've been so fortunate my whole life to have amazing doctors. When you find a great doctor, you hold on to them and don't let go. For as long as my dentist is in practice, I will travel the 45 minutes to downtown D.C. to see her. Sure, there are dentists much closer to where I live, but she is the only one I want to see. I feel the same way about my OB/GYN and got very lucky that the house we bought 5 years ago wasn't that far away from the hospital they deliver at. Made it much easier to explain to my husband why I wasn't switching doctors.
Ideally, I would like to find a GI doctor that specializes in Celiac. But until then, I feel Dr. X deserves a 2nd chance from me. In my eyes he met me more than halfway by picking up the phone and making good.
Just to keep everyone in on the latest, I've got an appointment with a nutritionist on October 1st. I plan to make small changes and slowly ramp up to a 100% gluten-free diet. My goal is to have this accomplished by Dec. 31st. I've already found out that soy sauce has gluten in it. Oy!!
September 17, 2009
Dr. X
Address of doctor
Dear Dr. X:
I take my health very seriously and would like you to know why I won’t be coming back as your patient in the future.
It isn’t because the two appointments I had specifically to meet with you I was kept waiting for more than 1.5 hours on my first visit (and never did get to see you) or kept waiting for 30 minutes on yesterday’s visit. I understand getting held up at the hospital and these things happen. Your whole staff was more than courteous, honest and upfront about it. In fact, it was the way the staff handled your absence the first time that impressed me and caused me to schedule the colonoscopy and endoscopy without formally meeting you.
No, the reason I will not be coming back is specifically the way I felt I was treated on my most recent office visit on Wednesday, September 16, 2009. My appointment was for a follow-up regarding the results to the colonoscopy and endoscopy. The most important aspect was being told I had Celiac disease. I had come to the appointment prepared with many questions. I was trying hard to get a grasp on this diagnosis and understand what it meant for me to have this disease. As you are aware, Celiac is a life changing condition and would mean making many lifestyle changes to accommodate it. Given your unknown return time from the hospital, Jane Doe (name of nurse) was able to assist and answer a good number of the questions I had. If we came to any questions that she couldn’t give me an answer she felt good about, she said to wait and ask you.
Upon your arrival, when it was time for me to ask you the questions I still had lingering, I was taken aback by your abrupt one or two word answers. I don’t feel you took any time to try to answer my concerns or help me understand the condition any better. In my opinion, you were bordering on being rude (and in fact were when you stopped to take a phone call in the middle of my appointment with you). Jane Doe ran circles around you in how she handled the questions I had. It is a shame my appointment wasn’t solely with her as she gives a much better impression of your practice than you do. The one question I still have and feel you completely dismissed in terms of giving me your professional opinion is, “How will I know eating a gluten-free diet will be working? How can I be confident I am doing everything right?”
In addition, I had questions regarding the findings of reflux and the hiatal hernia. However, I was so rattled by your disposition and lack of ‘bedside manner’, that I completely forgot to ask you about them. I had expected you would’ve gone through the findings of the report and wanted to discuss this, in addition to the Celiac diagnosis. Apparently I was wrong. In fact I am now wondering why you even requested a follow-up appointment.
I took this appointment with you very seriously and had arranged a babysitter so that I could give you my full attention and not be trying to juggle and entertain a 15 month old. I am disappointed by the lack of medical insight you gave me and frankly, insulted that my condition didn’t warrant your full attention.
I would like to make it abundantly clear that these reasons stated above are why I will not come back to your offices. Your staff, especially Jane Doe, is all top-notch and excels in customer service. They are a major credit to your practice and I hope you realize how fantastic they are. You, on the other hand, could learn a thing or two from them.
Sincerely,
My name
Cc: Jane Doe and the referring physician
I put the letter in my mailbox on Thursday and come Friday, at 6:00pm, my phone rang. It was Dr. X!! Boy was I surprised and not just because the letter made it to his hands in one day. I really didn't think I would hear back from him. If anything, I thought I would hear from Jane Doe. Dr. X apologized and said I was always welcome to come back. And then we talked. I brought up all my questions and this time he really answered them. We not only spoke about the Celiac, but also the hernia and reflux. It was me who initiated the end of the call. I thanked him, told him I appreciated him calling and hope he has a nice weekend. He reiterated again that I was always welcome to come back.
I've got to say, I feel so good that I wrote this letter and sent it. By Dr. X calling me, he completely did a 180 degree turn on what I thought of him. My perception of him has changed - all by the simple act of picking up the phone and calling me. He was the bigger person and I give him props for doing the right thing. Who knows, maybe he was having a bad day and was a little off during my office visit with him? But, I felt it was important for Dr. X to know the effect he had on me. This visit was a big deal for me and I wanted him to know that I matter.
I've been so fortunate my whole life to have amazing doctors. When you find a great doctor, you hold on to them and don't let go. For as long as my dentist is in practice, I will travel the 45 minutes to downtown D.C. to see her. Sure, there are dentists much closer to where I live, but she is the only one I want to see. I feel the same way about my OB/GYN and got very lucky that the house we bought 5 years ago wasn't that far away from the hospital they deliver at. Made it much easier to explain to my husband why I wasn't switching doctors.
Ideally, I would like to find a GI doctor that specializes in Celiac. But until then, I feel Dr. X deserves a 2nd chance from me. In my eyes he met me more than halfway by picking up the phone and making good.
Just to keep everyone in on the latest, I've got an appointment with a nutritionist on October 1st. I plan to make small changes and slowly ramp up to a 100% gluten-free diet. My goal is to have this accomplished by Dec. 31st. I've already found out that soy sauce has gluten in it. Oy!!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
R.I.P. Pasta
I am not a happy camper right now. I need a few days to digest (no pun intended!) what is going on and come to terms with it. I believe I've been given the diagnosis of having Celiac Disease. Ugh!! To anyone not familiar with what Celiac is, here is an informative link that will answer all your questions. Celiac Disease
My GI doctor's office called and said the pathology report from the biopsy is in and it appears my malabsorption of nutrients is due to Celiac. They would like me to have a blood test to confirm the results as my small intestine was a little too inflamed to be 100% conclusive. Freakin' Fanstastic. Good-bye pizza, good-bye pasta, good-bye popcorn. Good-bye to anything I think tastes good. My life as I've known it is over.
Fortunately my follow-up appointment with the doctor is not until September. So I still have a little more than a month to enjoy food before it becomes something solely eaten for sustenance. For the time being, I am going to live in denial and savor each bite of wheat, grain and gluten.
I realize in the big scheme of things, this is not the end of the world. I know there are people who suffer from much, much worse and would probably welcome the opportunity to only have to deal with something minor like Celiac. But, this is the end of MY world. I enjoy eating pasta and popcorn more than the average person; actually probably more than the average family combined. And getting gluten-free versions is not going to be the same. It will take advance planning, major effort and just not a whole lot of fun. But if it means that my body will function the way it is intended and help ward off more serious ailments, then it will be worth it. Right? Right. At least I keep telling myself that. Got to wrap this up, my bagel just popped out of the toaster.
My GI doctor's office called and said the pathology report from the biopsy is in and it appears my malabsorption of nutrients is due to Celiac. They would like me to have a blood test to confirm the results as my small intestine was a little too inflamed to be 100% conclusive. Freakin' Fanstastic. Good-bye pizza, good-bye pasta, good-bye popcorn. Good-bye to anything I think tastes good. My life as I've known it is over.
Fortunately my follow-up appointment with the doctor is not until September. So I still have a little more than a month to enjoy food before it becomes something solely eaten for sustenance. For the time being, I am going to live in denial and savor each bite of wheat, grain and gluten.
I realize in the big scheme of things, this is not the end of the world. I know there are people who suffer from much, much worse and would probably welcome the opportunity to only have to deal with something minor like Celiac. But, this is the end of MY world. I enjoy eating pasta and popcorn more than the average person; actually probably more than the average family combined. And getting gluten-free versions is not going to be the same. It will take advance planning, major effort and just not a whole lot of fun. But if it means that my body will function the way it is intended and help ward off more serious ailments, then it will be worth it. Right? Right. At least I keep telling myself that. Got to wrap this up, my bagel just popped out of the toaster.
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