Dealing with Medical Scares as a Family.

When you become a mother or a wife, dealing with medical scares are probably the last thing in the world that you want to do. But they do happen! Sometimes it’s a freak accident requiring a trip to the hospital or the result of an unhealthy lifestyle and sometimes it’s there right from the start as a gift of genetics. Regardless of the cause, bad things happen sometimes and it can be difficult for your family, especially young children.

While I don’t think anyone can truly prepare for all possible test results, accidents or issues that might come up, I do think that we can take steps to help us handle them.

Dealing with Medical Scares as a Family.

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I have lived with Asthma for my entire life. I had several scares as a young child and a teenager and as a result, I’m pretty good at managing my symptoms and knowing my limits – even while running. Knowing how to handle my own Asthma scares, however, didn’t really help me when my daughter presented with the affliction during her Kindergarten year.

I thought I was well versed on Asthma and I thought I knew how to keep an eye out for the symptoms – after all, I always knew there was a chance my children would inherit it. But Brooke presented with strange symptoms, she didn’t cough and there was no wheezing until things progressed to the point where a hospital trip was necessary. In fact, the only symptoms we had to go on was a stomach ache that came and went intermittently and throwing up in the middle of the night. Of course, we just thought it was a bug. But it was a bug that wouldn’t go away and no one could figure out why.

And then the day came when the stomach ache was worse than normal. While waiting in the emergency room she started to wheeze for the first time and was diagnosed with Asthma. I was devastated. I have Asthma and I know the risks and challenges, obviously, I never wanted my own child to live through them. And I felt guilty – how did I not put things together sooner? My child had to spend two nights in the hospital because what we thought was a bug turned out to be much worse. It wasn’t exactly a wonderful period of family life. We were stressed, the kids were scared and no one was happy.

Thankfully it all worked out in the end. Yes, Brooke has Asthma and she will have to rely on medications, like me, for the rest of her life. But! We came out the other side with everyone as healthy as possible and we learned.

Trust Your Gut

If something seems off, even if at first everyone tells you not to worry about it – go and get it looked into. The peace of mind that comes from getting it looked at is well worth the time. If your current Doctor brushes things off and things really don’t get better, don’t be afraid to look for second opinions.

Go to a Specialist

While some specialists require a referral to see you can typically find allergists and other such Doctors that you can make an appointment with personally. It might be worth looking for an office like WellStar Medical Group. WellStar Medical Group ENT has a host of specialists on staff and takes great pride in not only listening to your story and concerns but developing a treatment plan that you understand.

Sometimes a lot of stress can be relieved when visiting a Doctor that really seems to listen to you and then takes the time to explain things in a way that makes sense. Having a large group of in house specialists and offering a wide variety of services is also a big benefit should other problems arise! In fact, while my daughter suffers from asthma my husband had some issues with sleep apnea before going Keto and losing a great deal of weight. Being able to visit different specialists, such as Dr. Gurudutt, in the same offices is much easier scheduling wise than having to go to multiple locations.  

Dr. Vivek Gurudutt is an expert in head and neck Oncology and also has a certification for using robotic surgeries to treat cancers and sleep apnea. Aside from teaching ultrasound techniques to other surgeons and taking part in the World Trade Center program to help treat first responders affected by 9/11, Dr. Gurudutt also organized a medical outreach program during Med school. This program was aimed at helping pediatric patients in the remote region of the Sierra Madre mountains. 

Explain Things to Your Kids

Talking to your kids about medical issues might seem daunting. I admit that there have been times that keeping problems from the kids seems like the best choice. I didn’t want to scare or cause them to worry! Over time, however, I have found this to rarely be the case. Kids might not understand the finer details of what’s happening but they almost certainly pick up on underlying stress, tension, and upsets to their typical routine.

It can be scary for young children to know that someone isn’t well, especially if no one is willing to answer their questions because ‘you won’t understand’. While it’s not necessary to frighten them with a lot of intense information, sitting down and talking to them about their worries, giving them a brief overview of what they might expect in the next few days or explaining why a sibling or family member now needs to take certain precautions or medications can really help alleviate some stress. None of us like to feel like we are being kept out of the loop or like our fears are being pushed aside and this rings true for young children as much as it does for adults!

Just Do Your Best!

When we are put under stressful situations it can sometimes feel like we aren’t doing enough to solve the problem or deal with the situation. Sometimes, especially when dealing with medical scares, we want to fix things that are out of our control or get frustrated by abrupt changes to our lifestyles. It’s important to realize that all of these feelings are normal. It’s okay if you are angry, scared, sad or resentful about things that are happening. The important thing is that you realize that you are currently doing the best that you are capable of. Be a bit more forgiving of slip-ups and love yourself and others a little bit harder.