Be your own advocate

Heard from a friend today with a little one who has been quite ill. Take a look at what the poor kid has gone through:

She received a bad diagnosis on pneumonia: 4 days, 4 different doctors, 6 visits, and no one picked up on it. They finally went to ER and she was admitted due to dangerously low potassium levels and near cardiac arrest. She spent 5 days in the Pedi ward, but is now home. Her mom reports she is slowly starting to look like a normal child.

Good Lord, what a terrible mess. Fortunately this story ends well. But there's a lesson to be learned.

Be your own advocate. If you're not happy with the care and/or attention you receive, kick up a fuss and make sure you are taken seriously. If this mom hadn't pressed on looking for answers for her child, there's no telling what might have happened.

Here's more good advice: take someone with you when you have a significant appointment, particularly if you need to discuss a diagnosis, test results, treatment plans, and the like. It's not easy to hear everything, even when you really think you're listening to what's being said.

That's today's lesson.