It is a crazy tale that most parents don’t think about happening until it happens!

Your child ends up sick.

You take him or her to your trusted pediatrician.

The pediatrician blows it off to be something simple.

Or, worse yet, the pediatrician implies that you, as the parent, are just being overly concerned or anxious.

Later on, something major happens and you find out that your child, indeed, has something seriously wrong going on!

You realize that the pediatrician you originally trusted misdiagnosed your child!

Now what?

Read on to find out what steps you should take next.

1. Get Straight with Your Emotions

This sounds stupid, but it’s important.

When you first realized that your child was misdiagnosed, you may feel a lot of things.

You may feel surprised by the diagnosis, especially if it was something that you weren’t expecting.

You may feel angry that the pediatrician did not catch the diagnosis.

There may be thoughts of guilt because you may feel as though you should’ve seen this coming or because you didn’t see it sooner.

You may also feel scared about the journey that this diagnosis may mean for you and your child.

There may be many emotions circulating through you.

And that is okay!

It is normal.

Don’t let anyone downplay them.

Don’t get on the phone with people who are going to try to get you to mask these emotions or make them less than what they are.

That may make things worse for you.

Only talk to people in your life who will validate them with you and help you sort through them.

You can always get in touch with a mental health professional, as well.

The important thing, here, is to recognize your feelings about this situation and care for yourself.

Your child is going to need you – so start by being kind and loving to yourself over this.

When you have your emotions in check, then you can help your child better deal with theirs.

2. Set Up a New Care Team

Find your child a new doctor!

Immediately!

It may very well be the doctor who just diagnosed your child.

Because now that doctor knows what is going on for your child and may be able to help you better.

Your child may need more intricate care now.

Perhaps your child will need additional specialists or nurses or mental health care.

Get a new team together so that your child is finally getting the help that he or she needs!

Read about how to be prepared for a doctor appointment here.

Do some research on the medical staff that you are seeking.

Make sure to read the reviews and their medical history.

Remember!

Your child only deserves the very best medical care that you can find!

You may have to deal with insurance and find out if it covers the professionals you are seeking.

Get all of this squared away now.

You have to take care of your precious baby!

3. Create a Timeline

Now that your child has better care lined up, start making a timeline.

A timeline is a list of everything that happened on certain dates and times.

It can be a very important piece of documentation.

A timeline can be very helpful in a medical malpractice lawsuit case.

Or it may be beneficial simply with your child’s future medical experience.

Doctors may need to ask questions about when symptoms started and when you took your child to the doctor, initially.

As you go on and deal with your child’s current diagnosis, your memory may fade on everything that happened earlier.

Write down dates, times and details – as much as you can recall!

Example of a Timeline:

For example, you may write:

• On March 31st, around 7:30am, Kevin started crying and complaining of tummy pains.
• On April 2nd, at 2pm, I took Kevin to see (Dr’s Name) and he said that it was just anxiety.
• On April 4th, at 3:45pm, I took Kevin back to see (Dr’s Name) and he said that it was gas pains and told me that I was worrying for nothing.
• On April 5th, at 4:45am, Kevin started vomitting blood.
• On April 5th, at 5:10am, I took Kevin to the hospital where he was official diagnosed with…

No Aspirin Needed For You!

The above was just a brief example but make certain to write as much detail as possible!

This may take a few minutes of your time, but it will save you plenty of headache in the future!

Trust me!

Because you may need to retell the story, with as much detail as possible later on!

And you will be so glad that you did this!

4. Speak to a Medical Malpractice Attorney

You will be busy focusing on your child’s care.

That is number one!

But you may also want to speak with an attorney who specializes in doctor’s who make big mistakes.

When a doctor misdiagnoses your child, it can have serious consequences.

Your child may need costly medical care now due to the doctor’s negligence.

You may feel as though the doctor should be penalized for causing your child to be put in a worser situation.

It is important to speak with an attorney to see if you even have a case.

Doctor’s make mistakes because, they too, are human!

But whether or not you’d even be able to sue your doctor would have to be determined by a good lawyer.

Many states have time limits on how long you can file a lawsuit.

So speak to an attorney right away!

This way you will know if you even have a case to begin with.

Be certain to take your timeline and any other medical documentation that you have to prove your case to your attorney at the initial consultation.

This will give the attorney better eyes to decide if a case even exists.

5. File a Complaint with the State

If the attorney says that you do not have a case, you can look into filing a complaint with the state.

That is, if you still feel as though you would like to see something done about the situation.

You may want to file a complaint with the State if the attorney says that you have a case, but you don’t want to go through with the proceeding.

I did this when my son’s pediatrician misdiagnosed him and kicked us out of the practice without warning right after she found out his condition.

I did not feel as though I could mentally and emotionally handle an entire formal case against my son’s pediatrician.

But I did want to do something about the matter.

So, I called the State and asked about filing a complaint.

And I did so.

I don’t know what ever happened and I don’t really need to know.

I just felt better making certain that my son’s story was out there.

At least I can say that I did do something about it and the rest is up to the State.

Go with what you are comfortable with.

Get to a place where you can let it go.

Then move on with helping your child overcome the obstacles that they are facing.

6. Get Support

Now that you have dealt with the horrors of the misdiagnosis, it is time to move on.

Make certain that you and your child have all of the support that you need.

Let family and friends in, who are supportive and want to help.

Keep up with your child’s appointments and care team.

Spend quality time with your child and help your child to feel empowered through all of this.

Seek out mental health professionals for you and your child, if you wish.

And make certain to take good care of yourself.

Oh!

That nice warm cappuccino that your body has been calling for all day?

Go ahead and have it!

Do whatever makes you feel comforted and relaxed by the end of the day!

 

What are some ways that you have taken good care of yourself in a difficult situation?

Feel free to share in the comment section below!