Check Up

Welcome back to Taylor Talks!

Have you ever moved before? This is the first time that my family has ever moved, and I never realized how much is involved with the process prior to going through it now.

For example, my mom just went through the process of finding a new pediatrician for all of the kids. She's setting up appointments to meet with new doctors to figure out which place is right for us, and then she'll have to make sure all of the kids' information is transferred to the new office. All of this talk about doctors brought up information about how my mom brings new foster children to the doctor.

When you have a new foster child arrive at your home, you usually know absolutely nothing about their previous medical care. You don't know what shots they've been given, if they have any allergies, what their family history is... this child is a blank slate. Most of the time, you don't even know what doctor they had previously been going to, if any. So within the first few days of a new placement, my mom always takes our new addition to the doctor.

Now, I can't tell you how the doctors find out the information they need, or how they determine what the child needs in that first visit, but I can tell you that they can get the ball rolling on new medical care for the child pretty quickly. Our pediatricians in particular have always been so welcoming to our new children, and have always gone above and beyond to make the kids feel good in a new environment. Since you don't know how often a child has been to a doctor in the past, it's so important to make them feel safe and comfortable on their first few visits to your own pediatrician. And if you're as lucky as we've been for the past twenty-one years, then your pediatricians will make your new foster children feel right at home as they get them up to speed with their medical care.

Medical care is one of those areas in life where you sometimes don't get a lot of information in foster care, even if the child has been with you for a while. Sometimes, you don't even get all of their background filled in when you go through the whole process and adopt the child. Unfortunately, foster care leaves families with a lot of information gaps, and there's nothing you can do about that. But as a foster parent, you can be proactive and go after the information that you need, whether that means following up with a caseworker to try to get whatever knowledge they've come across, or taking steps to work with the people in your own life and community to make sure the child gets the best care possible. Being a foster parent means fighting for the child, and looking out for their best interests. It can be challenging at times, but it's all worth it when you know that you've helped a child.

My goal is to reach 150 likes on my Facebook author page by the time I'm celebrating a year of blogging on July 29th, and it would mean so much to me if everyone could like and share my page. It's as simple as clicking the two buttons at the top right of any blog page, so it only takes a few seconds of your time! As I've mentioned before, when I reach 150 likes, I will share information about the novel that I've been working on, so I'm really excited to hit that milestone!

I’d greatly appreciate it if you would share this blog with friends and family through your favorite social media sites. If you’re sharing on Twitter, don’t forget to tag me (@TayTayK02) and use the hashtag #TaylorTalks.

Thanks!
Taylor

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