Most of you know we went to the hospital this month for a “routine” surgery. Since I’ve been at this awhile now – overseeing hospital staff as they provide care for my son, I’ve learned that you just cannot “trust” the system and that everything happening to you is correct, or the way it is supposed to be. I told you we were nearly dismissed without having been given a FEVER BLOCK, the WRONG DOSE of heparin to lock the mediport long term, and if I hadn’t used my parent voice and stood up for what was happening… we also would be in line for a new, unnecessary mediport surgery.
Listen to what your “gut” is telling you, and don’t let nurses or even the doctor bully you… YOU are the parent, YOU have the final decision on any medical care… they can only make recommendations and suggest a plan of care. Nobody knows your child better than YOU do… you know when something just isn’t “right” – that’s the little voice in your head you need to listen to. I’m not saying be a hypochondriac, but trust in your instincts as a mother/parent! This advice is not only for mothers and parents - but for ANYONE who has a family member in need of a medical procedure - there are no stupid questions to ask of your medical staff, and remember that YOU are in charge of the situation.
This poor mother was not persistent with the medical staff, and a medical mistake cost her the life of her child. You know that we too have been there, and a machine malfunction nearly killed Braden last fall. Looks like a good book – here is the review. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203706604574378762626910076.html
I have just felt this little nudge to share our story, so that your family will never be a victim of a medical mistake.
1 comment:
Absolutely agree. This is a different era we live in, and unlike our parents who would tug their forelock almost subserviently and say 'whatever you say Dr', we've now broken down these divisions and ask the awkward questions. And quiet right too.
Whilst we as patients or parents of patients have quickly evolved to this new era, unfortunately most Doctors haven't yet adjusted - and they feel threatened or even offended if you say "hold on doc, this med is contra-indicated" or anything else that makes life awkward. It's no big deal if they are - we entrust them with our most precious things - our kids, so question, probe, double-check everything.
As i said, this is a new era - We're not seeking 100% perfection from Dr's - there only human too - but schoolboy errors and omission? We just cannot let that happen. Not with our kids.
Kemal
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