breaking up is hard to do

We broke up with our dermatologist. We have pretty much come to the conclusion that she did not have the machine necessary to get any more results. She had pretty much said as much a few months ago. We had a consultation yesterday with a new dermatologist that had been recommended to us a number of times. We were very happy with what we talked about and are very secure in our decision to switch. She set us up for a laser treatment for next week. We had a treatment scheduled with the old doctor the same day which I had just canceled. Either way, this didn't leave us with a lot of time to get the records via mail. Nope, we had to call Dr. #1 and speak to her directly. She was going to email the new doctor the necessary information. It still felt awkward. I have never had to end an ongoing "relationship" with a doctor. Most could care less if you switch. But with Ava's doctors, they care. She is known by name and face to all of them. She is a topic of conversation when they call about other patients. It was hard, but as with other break ups, once it was done, I felt much better. It needed to happen.

The new doctor didn't promise any miracles. We have no real new expectations for results, we just know that she has more experience and a different machine. I know she will be up front and has treated other kids through out their entire childhood and adolescence. She knows the real deal. Ava will also get eye pressure checks done at the same time, so with this switch her eyes will be closely monitored and the number of times she will have to go under anesthesia is cut pretty much in half. We will still just be getting to a point where it won't get any lighter, probably within the next 1-3 years and from then on out, we will go to just maintaining what lightening has taken place, trying to keep the tissues from stretching and growing and keep the blood vessels from growing back. People ask if Ava still has been getting treatments. The answer is yes, and probably will always be yes. Will she ever be white? Nope. To me, that just kind of proves the point that this is not a cosmetic procedure. Any cosmetic "improvements" are just an added bonus to the medical necessity of the procedures.