Question authorities

You know I'm very (infinitely) selective when it comes to doctors, because I don't think a white gown makes a good doctor.

When we have health problems, we do our research thoroughly and if it doesn’t match what doctors or paediatricians say, we question the doctor's opinion and/or get a second opinion. We believe it's our responsbility to question authorities, because unfortunately holding a title doesn’t make anybody a professional.

This spared the children a lot of unnecessary antibiotics.

It spared Oliver a catheter up his penis when a simple urine test bag was enough: I will never forget the condescending look on the paediatrician’s face – he then had to admit that *I* was right.

It spared Oliver a hand X-ray which we refused to allow for a simple falling nail with no pain in the finger: "But ma'am, do you know that holding the cell phone close to your child is more dangerous than an X-ray?", I got told by the professional that day (the worst of the worst is a professional with an ego, as it immediately escalates to abuse of power).

It spared myself more weeks in the hospital when the professionals thought an antibiotic was working – "she has no fever", they said – while they were also filling me up with painkillers (which they didn't communicate to me): I insisted that they stopped giving me painkillers and the high fever returned immediately. After a week of just waiting, this is when they realized they had to put in a thicker drainage – with more pain and more time in the hospital.  

The list could go on, but the point is: a title does't make anybody a professional. We must always be critical and inquisitive, and question authorities, especially when it's about our health.