Dear Doctor,
Today I am sitting and reflecting over a story I heard. A wonderful family lost their beautiful little boy. Should it have happened? No. Should someone have listened to the mom when she called the nurse line or when she brought him in to the office? YES! Because her “mom” sense was disregarded, it was too late for him. It was too late for the emergency room docs, Life Line, or the Children’s hospital he never made it to. His little body gave out… Imagine yourself in the shoes of the family. Imagine yourself in the shoes of the nurse on the nurse line. Imagine yourself as the doc that disregarded his condition and passed it off as another virus that needed to run its course. Can you imagine? No, you can’t unless you have walked in their shoes.
So, guess what? I am going to be “that mom”. That mom that bugs the crap out of you when my child is sick with unexplained symptoms, with the slight fever that can turn to craziness in moments, and that mom that brings her kids in for the common cold because my one kid has asthma and the other is compromised from a heart condition. Do you know why? Because I am “THAT MOM”. My children are my lifeline and are the biggest part of my very existence. Because of the day we were disregarded about our son’s health and pushed to the side for almost a year when he had a life concerning heart condition. Because of the day we went to the emergency room and was disregarded by the physician as the “mom who cannot get her kid to stop crying.” Yes, I heard you! I heard you when you said to the nurse behind the curtain, “she is one of those moms” and then you sighed as a true sign that we weren’t worthy of your time.
What you don’t know because you didn’t care to listen and because you didn’t care to look in his chart, is that he was a sick little boy. A little boy who was wearing a 30 day event/halter monitor to check for ischemic activity. Because he had been having symptoms mimicking a heart attack. Remember when you disregarded all of those things and many more? Remember when you went to discharge us and hadn’t even examined him? Remember when I questioned you and asked you why? Remember when you got angry and decided to put him through every test known to man EXCEPT for the ones he really needed. EXCEPT for the ones I kept asking about and you disregarded my words. Why do you think I asked to be transferred to a children’s hospital? Because I didn’t want to be the mom who ended up hating herself for not trusting her mom sense. The mom that trusted the doctor when he said nothing was wrong. Why? Because I know my child better than anyone. Because my “mom sense” was spot on and I knew you were wrong.
YOU are the reason children are in danger, not “THAT MOM”. YOU. We put our faith in your hands to care for our children. Well…. no more. Because if you said or did one thing correctly that night, you pegged me as “THAT MOM” who wasted your time.
So, thank you. Thank you for giving me the sense and the strength to go over your head. I am so thankful my child is still alive unlike the story above…
Any mom reading this… I challenge you to become “THAT MOM”. Why? Because she saves the lives of her children.
Sincerely,
THAT MOM
Painting Butterflies 