Mom's Plea to Always Trust Your Gut Instincts Will Make You Hug Your Kids Tighter ~ health and fitness,celebrity news,fashion blog,beauty women,whole foods,quotes about love

mardi 20 juin 2017

Mom's Plea to Always Trust Your Gut Instincts Will Make You Hug Your Kids Tighter

After a terrifying episode with her daughter, Margaret Bradford wants all parents to understand the importance of trusting your gut and advocating for your kids - even if that means going against doctors.

"Parents, I say this with every ounce of sincerity I have - YOU know your children better than anyone else in this world," the impassioned mom wrote on Facebook. "You have been there with them for everything. You have changed every diaper, cuddled away every tear, kissed every booboo, cheered every milestone, hugged away every scary monster, and rejoiced in every smile. YOU know your children. Do not ever let anyone make you feel like you don't."

Margaret admits that she's "the very definition of a mama bear" and as the parent of a sick child, has spent years fighting for her kids to ensure that they are always given the respect and care that they deserve.

I have watched my children have their chest cracked open, their heart stopped and cut into, and rejoiced at the sound of it beating once again. I have watched them spend months in hospitals fighting for their life. I have advocated for better care so strongly that I have even gone before my state senate and literally changed the very laws of medical care for newborns to ensure the very best and most thorough treatment is given to every child in their right to complete and comprehensive medical care. I've spoken to news stations, raised awareness, and made sure everyone knew that medical care for children can and will be improved, because our children deserve it and we parents demand it. I do not stop, I do not sit silent, and I do not accept defeat.

Yet, despite her endless advocating, Margaret let someone talk her out of her concerns when her other child developed worrying symptoms - just because he was a doctor and supposedly knew better. "Two nights ago, I allowed someone with a medical degree make me feel, for a few solitary moments, like my gut feelings were wrong and I was overreacting to my child's medical concerns. I allowed this person to make me feel like I was panicking where there was nothing," she wrote. "I allowed them to make me feel like maybe I was reaching because I was so conditioned to see the worst medical scenario with my chronically sick child that when my otherwise healthy child was ill, it was not as serious as I knew deep down it was."

Margaret now knows that her concerns were completely warranted. "What I felt before being belittled, ignored, and written off was 100 percent accurate; my child is seriously, seriously ill," she wrote.

After three days of unsuccessfully trying to break her little girl's fever, Margaret finally brought Harper to the emergency room with a 105.4-degree temperature. "The doctor there saw her, heard our situation, and after an x-ray of her stomach and a catheter for a UTI check, decided I was a young mom with no clue," she wrote. "The requests I made for more extensive testing - full blood work including CBC, BMP, and spinal - went ignored, and we were discharged with the diagnosis: 'virus, probably, she'll be fine.' He was wrong."

Harper's fever continued to rise to 106.3 degrees so Margaret brought her back to the hospital and this time demanded the testing that they were previously denied. "It couldn't wait; Harper desperately needed relief, and we deserved more thorough answers," she wrote. "We found out several hours later that what the first doctor had quickly diagnosed as 'virus, probably' appears to in fact be Kawasaki disease; an illness which causes major inflammation inside the walls of blood vessels and arteries requiring immediate hospitalization, immunoglobulin IV therapies, and aspirin to reduce the likelihood of blood clots within the heart."

Margaret explained that her other child has cardiac disease and has had congestive heart failure. Given that history, Harper should have been tested for this disease immediately based on her symptoms alone. "Every day left untreated raises the risk of serious complications including heart failure and lifelong heart tissue damage, thus significantly raising the chances of early adulthood heart attacks and aneurysms," she wrote.

They won't know until after more testing whether Harper's heart is permanently damaged but Margaret is positive that if the doctors had taken her seriously the first time, this would've been caught days ago. As they wait for more answers, Margaret is promising her children that she will never will never let her fears be ignored again - and hopes that every other parent makes that same vow:

I know my children, and I know when something is seriously wrong. You do too. You are their voice and their advocate; don't let anyone, no matter their degree or their opinion, make you feel like you don't. You know them better and you can tell when something isn't OK. Say so, and if someone won't listen, say it louder until they do. Your child depends upon you to do so.

I promise my children and I vow to all my friends; I will never let anyone ever again make me feel like my intuition regarding my children is questionable. I'll be the mama bear I know I am, and I won't ever stop even if I have to piss some people off and demand more from them along the way. My children deserve it, and so do yours.

mardi 20 juin 2017