One mother ’s story: The most powerful lesson

There he was. My 5-month old precious baby boy lying lifeless on a stretcher after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. It was an absolute nightmare. My body switched into autopilot, and all the moments ran together in a chaotic group of memories that I can’t create a timeline for. Somewhere between complete desperation to find the answers and an overwhelming, powerful love I had for this child, I had the courage to stand up and be the demanding mother I always criticized. And you know what happened? It saved our son’s life. My advice comes from the experience of desperately dragging our son from one medical provider to another, getting the same answer when I knew it wasn’t right and watching our little boy fight through a nine-hour surgery. I learned a lot in those 14 days in the hospital and in the days since. The most powerful lesson I learned has not only kept our son healthy, but also kept him alive. Be your child’s advocate. My advice comes from a mother who understands that being a voice for your child can be the difference between life and death. Trust your gut. As I watched Anthony continue to vomit over the course of five days, I knew that this was not like any other sickness I had seen. The look in his eyes spoke to me, as if to say, “Mommy, please help me!” We spent the next few days seeing a medical professional at least once a day. Between doctors, emergency rooms and late-night phone calls to the on-call nurse, I was not accepting the diagnosis as ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Our Patients’ Stories Parenting Brain tumor Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center Department of Neurology Source Type: news