Dear Doctor #7: Trust Your Instincts
November 7, 2006 by Lei
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
If today’s Dear Doctor letter from Robyn Tippins of Inside Motherhood doesn’t touch your heart, you need a heart transplant.
Dear Doctor,
Why can’t you trust that I know something is wrong?
Last year my 4 week old baby, Ruby, began coughing and turning blue. I knew something was wrong and 2 weeks of doctor visits just resulted in them telling me it was a cold. Look, I have raised 3 other children, I know what a cold looks like.
It wasn’t until my husband called and got mean that they gave us a referral to a pulmonologist. We went and they wouldn’t even let us go home to get clothes. She was admitted that day to the hospital for Whooping Cough (Pertussis). She was there for almost 2 weeks.
When we got out we spent the next three months at home w/home health care visits and breathing assistance (suction machine, oxygen and oxygen monitor).
Why wouldn’t they listen in the first place? What would have happened if I hadn’t trusted my instincts?
Thankfully, Ruby is ok today.
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