We got a letter yesterday informing us that one of our very favorite doctors (Gracie’s infectious disease specialist) is no longer at her practice and will now be working at a different hospital with mostly adult patients. My first thought was, “Well, I guess we’ll be going to that hospital from now on!” but then, as reason crept in, I realized that the hospital our fave doc transferred to won’t be able to treat Gracie’s frequent cellulitis and osteomyelitis, since it’s primarily a respiratory hospital. We will continue going to the lesser-known children’s hospital in town for run-of-the-mill infections, where Gracie has been treated enough times to have a solid history and loads of records.

I suppose it’s to be expected that doctors will come and go, but it was such a shock with this doctor. She is a solo practitioner who works under the umbrella of a bigger group, so it’s surprising to me that she closed her solo practice so suddenly. And, equally bothersome, she had surgery in November, so I’m worried that she had complications from her surgery, or that something happened as a result of her absence that jeopardized her and her practice. I hope she’s okay.

I have thought of her many times during our extended absence from antibiotics. I’ve wanted to reach out to her, just to say hi, but I was superstitiously worried that by contacting her I would somehow induce the karma gods to give Gracie an infection. I stayed away. Gracie’s health is more important than keeping in touch with a doctor, even one who is very nice and who I would hang out with socially if the situation were different. Now, though, I wish I had reached out.

The silver lining is that this particular doctor frequently told us we were one of her favorite families—told us Grace is one of her favorite patients. I know that if we needed her to at least weigh in on what antibiotics to use, she would. If Gracie’s pediatrician needed advice, she could still contact this doctor. I know Dr. D. hasn’t forgotten us, just like we haven’t forgotten her. I just hope she’s okay and this transition is good for her.