The Surprise Turn

I am not going to lie, I was nervous about getting a second opinion regarding my daughter's illness.  I love her team of doctors.  They have helped us so much, but I had some lingering questions that were not getting answered.  However, seeking a second opinion felt like I was "cheating" on our doctors.  Would they be mad?  Would they be offended? Ugh, the guilt! Finally, I decided hurt feelings or not, I needed to do this for my daughter.  In the end, I was VERY glad we got that second opinion.  We gathered some valuable information.  My daughter's original team of doctors were amazing and even agreed to collaborate with the second opinion team.  I'm glad that I listened to my instincts and ignored my "need to make everyone happy" guilt. Here's some things I learned through the process: 1. Before even making the call to schedule a second opinion, start gathering all your medical records. 2. Request CD copies of your child's MRI scans...

Your child is out of the hospital, hopefully has a diagnosis and now is ready to go back to school.  Now what? Depending on your child's needs, you can talk to your child's school about different levels of support.  My daughter had a seizure, so the first thing the school needed was a seizure action plan.  This is a plan the doctor created with directions on what to do if she had another seizure.  I needed to provide the school with the seizure action plan (signed by her doctor) and a medical form (also signed by her doctor) for her prescription rescue medication before she could go back to school.  A similar protocol is often used for children diagnosed with diabetes.  Schools may require a diabetes action plan that is signed by the doctor and includes information on how to manage the child's diabetic needs.   If your child is doing well in school and able to do things like he or she did before?  That is awesome.  Do a little happy...