Why a Second Opinion Matters When It Comes To Your Kid’s Health

This past weekend my daughter Kaitlin, the bright bubbly girl who is as sweet as pie and never gets sick, got really ill all of a sudden. It really hit her hard on Mother’s Day and she complained of having a stomach ache, face pain, behind her eye hurt, she could barely open her eyes and a severe headache. That’s a lot.

For Mother’s Day, my husband made a reservation for all of us to go out to brunch but I would have had to either go and take Kaitlin sick or leave her home alone while we all went out and enjoyed brunch without her. So of course I opted to just stay home and enjoy the day surrounded by everyone and keep an eye on my girl. I did everything to ease her pain: I gave her Excedrin the headache medicine and that didn’t work. I gave her Benedryl and that didn’t work. I gave her Mucinex and that didn’t work. Nothing worked. So I started thinking this might be more serious than just a regular headache. So that night I took her to the ER at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

After a 4-hour wait I saw a doctor and his diagnosis? Kaitlin has Bell’s Palsy.

Say what?

I call bullshit.

What is Bell’s Palsy:

Bell’s palsy is a paralysis or weakness of the muscles on one side of your face. Damage to the facial nerve that controls muscles on one side of the face causes that side of your face to droop  The nerve damage may also affect your sense of taste and how you make tears and saliva. This condition comes on suddenly, often overnight, and usually gets better on its own within a few weeks.

First of all, Kaitlin’s face doesn’t droop. While her pain was sudden and her eye and one side of her face hurt, that was not enough to diagnosis her with Bell’s Palsy in my opinion. I couldn’t believe that even though she was in severe pain, the doctor did nothing, absolutely nothing but give her this strange diagnosis and send us on our way. No medicine, no pain relief… nothing. I have no idea what school the doctor graduated from, but I wasn’t buying what he was selling. When things don’t add up GO WITH YOUR GUT!

So this morning I walked Kaitlin into her pediatrician’s office and they took her right in. After thoroughly checking her out from head to toe, the doctor said simply: SHE HAS A SINUS INFECTION! NOT BELL’S PALSY!

Unbelievable! How did the ER doctor miss a simple diagnosis like that? Kaitlin apparently has severe allergies and pollen season has been unkind and unrelenting. She also has asthma and that also makes it hard for her to breathe on top of her sinuses acting up. Her doctor gave an antibiotic, Augmentin, for the next 10 days and she will be all fine and well.

I’m relieved.

I was very worried. When your child is not feeling well and especially a child who never gets sick, it can be unsettling. Just be sure to go with your gut and get a second opinion when it just doesn’t make any damn sense. Doctors don’t know it all. Sometimes mommas are way more qualified to call the shots. We’ve got some serious intuition to handle any condition.

Have you ever had a doctor misdiagnose you or your child?