Be an advocate

A departure from my usual notes on marketing, this is a comment about being an advocate for healthcare. Not in the sense of the expense of healthcare...although I definitely have strong feelings on that subject. But on how important it is to advocate for your own, your child's and your loved ones healthcare.

We on day 5 of a stay in a nearby children's hospital for what was to be a simple, routine overnight procedure. When the procedure was over, our baby just didn't seem right, and we knew something was wrong. We spoke to every nurse, every doctor and every resident who entered our room, and we weren't heard. Every person told us it was just the anesthesia.

We firmly believe that we are the advocates of our children's healthcare. We just kept dogging it, and finally 20 hours later one nurse and one doctor heard. We said what we had said many times before, that there is something wrong with our child and the doctor stopped us and said "that is all I need to hear, you are an experienced mother and if you say there is something wrong then let's find out what it is."

24 hours after our baby's first procedure, he was rushed back into surgery. When we thanked the doctor who listened, he said "don't thank me, you were right on. As doctors, we need to remember - as we are taught in school - that the parents always know their children best and we need to listen to them".

It is ok to ask. It is ok to insist. It is ok not to give up. We have a great deal of respect for our family's doctors - particularly at this children's hospital. They are world class.

But, only we know our children and our loved ones the best, and it is ok to say "something just isn't right." This situation was a great reminder for us never to give up and to always advocate for our healthcare.