Well, here is a rare and sad story of a little boy dying after being transferred to three hospitals within an 11 hour time period. He died en-route with his mother in the front of the ambulance. Clearly, there are pieces to this tragic story that must be pieced together, but the bottom line is the need for knowledge and understanding for controlled asthma and advocacy. When I say advocacy, I mean advocating for your child or yourself at the hospital. I’m talking taking off your nice girl or boy hat and putting on the “I-respect-you-but-I-will-not-stop-until-I-get-the-right-answers” hat. You know the one? The hat that says, something is very wrong and I need to know what is being done right now and what are the possibilities and choices we have–including understanding the various outcomes of each choice kind of hat. So what did happen that caused the death of a young child with an asthma attack?
STORY: Young boy dies from asthma attack in an ambulance
The mother of this little boy said, “As a parent, you know, we don’t know. We go with what the doctor says. The doctor knows best. I’m just trusting that he’s putting my child in good hands.” regarding the boy being transported to different hospitals. At each hospital the mother was told that the facility was not equipped to handle his needs. Okay, now, call me silly, but aren’t hospitals suppose to be equipped for trauma? That’s why we go there. The only thing I can think of is that they were at a facility that did not have a proper pediatric emergency room or department. I do understand that adult sized equipment is not effective on tiny bodies.
My heart breaks for this mother,who was doing the right thing by trusting the professionals. She did the best she could by trusting the doctors. What I have personally learned is that we can have amazing doctors on our team but as long as we have an over worked and stressed out system, the carrying out of the doctor’s orders is another situation. We have incredible doctors and nurses working insane hours to keep us healthy and safe and yet, we still struggle to make good health care happen. This is so disheartening and tragic. I am sure when all is said and done, I am guessing the story will be about miscommunication, possibly lack of asthma control, lack of proper equipment and facilities for a small child and a family destroyed by the death of a child.
The lesson I have learned from this story is to keep asthma under control and visit your doctor annually, even if you are feeling great-stay proactive. I know to make sure I speak out loud when I advocate and not worry about what others think. I have returned to many a physician’s office with a cake to say thanks for putting up with my pushy, questioning ways. Lastly, to always remember, physicians dedicate their lives to saving ours and that they are human just like us and mistakes and misjudgement can happen. We all simply must educate ourselves and do the best we can each and every day.
Sad story about a young boy dying in an ambulance
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