Sunday

Signing Consent Forms

E is continuing his brilliant progress, taking to breastfeeding like a duck to water.

Dr C saw him on his rounds and said that on all likelihood we will go home next week. I cannot wipe the smile off my face. The only thing that concerns me is that he still has to have his operation. It will be any day now and the thought of the drip, the canulas, the feeding stopping etc make me feel sick. I wish that he did not have to endure any pain or discomfort.

Tonight the surgeon Dr H came to see me and got me to sign a consent form for the hernia operation. I know that I wanted to be a mother and have some responsibility but this is taking it a bit far...it is quite a thing to have to sign a consent form that affects not you but your child. We are also getting E circumcised at the same time so that he does not have to have a bris - we are Jewish and our son must have a circumcision, the thing is that we have to sign that we are doing the circumcision against medical advice. YUGH! But rather that than having him have to have a bris when he is awake!
Everything is booked for Wednesday afternoon if there is time or Friday or Monday. How confusing. I do however feel much better about the whole procedure after talking to Dr H. He has said that Ethan will only have the canula put in at theatres, he will be tubed under anaesthetic and he will have minimal discomfort while awake. Please God he will come back to the NCC extubated and will be tired but hungry and he can feed as soon as he wants. I know that it is a general anaesthetic and comes with all the associated risks but I also know that he is in good hands.

8 comments:

  1. Hi,

    Okay: you posted this on the internet, so I"m going to respond.

    I am so sorry about your baby and I can't imagine how hard it is to see him struggle like that. I wish only health and happiness for him and his parents. That said:

    What in the world is wrong with you?! Circumcision AGAINST MEDICAL CONSENT?! YUGH indeed!

    Are you not aware that Jewish law would exempt you from circumcision if your child is ill as he is?! Come on!

    This is not about criticizing you, or Judaism, or a bris- this is about your child's life! You say you don't want him to be in any pain, but THINK about what you're about to do to him!

    I"m honestly surprised that the doctors would allow this to happen. Your son is a Jew because he is born of Jewish parents. Enough! What do you want to tell him when he's older- that you cared about his life enough to postpone his bris to when he was healthy, or that you risked his life unnecessarily?

    I'm really sorry for the tone of this, but seriously, you posted it online for the world to see and I saw it. Someone had to wake you up. I know you want only the best for your son, but THIS IS DANGEROUS. If the doctors said don't do it- PLEASE listen to them!

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  2. Okay, I see now that this is a repost of 8 years ago. I am glad to see that your son is okay and doing well.

    I still stand by what I said, but again, very glad to see that he's well.

    Take care.

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  3. Thanks for your comments Caroline.

    E was scheduled to have surgery anyway. There is no way we would have put him through a general anaesthetic if he did not have to have a double hernia removed anyway. The circumcision itself was not risky or dangerous, we just had to sign the consent because the hospital where we were did not advocate circumcision at all.

    Hope you stay around to read the rest...

    Thank you again for taking the time to comment. I really do appreciate everyone's thoughts

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  4. Yes, this is obviously much too late for you, but others may learn from it. A medical circumcision has nothing to do with being Jewish.

    Circumcision always has some risk, and the danger goes all the way to death. (One in South Dakota is in the news this week.) That is one reason the hospital was unwilling. Glad everything went well this time.

    A small but growing number of Jewish parents are opting for non-surgical naming ceremonies, Brisot Shalom. Here are contact details for celebrants http://shalom.notlong.com

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  5. Not all Jewish people believe in circumcision. Brit Shalom is an alternative naming ceremony to celebrate the birth of baby boys to Jewish families. These sites are all run by Jewish people opposed to circumcision:

    http://www.jewishcircumcision.org/
    http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org/
    http://www.circumcision.org/

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  6. A medical circumcision does not fulfill the covenant.

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  7. Thanks for all the "interest". It was our choice to circumcise our son and it is a choice I stand by. I also had the circumcision made "kosher" when E was a little bit older.

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  8. Hooray for you! Bring your son up in a world, where you know your beliefs, you stand by your beliefs, and you teach him those.... furthermore, the argument of medical circumcision or not is a battle which has been raging for a long time with no distinct conclusion for one side or another. It comes down to the free world we live in.. the freedom to make a choice..

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