Another vote for checking the web before medical procedures
In May, I wrote Poor Weight Gain: A Cautionary Tale to stress how important it is to do your own research before accepting a negative diagnosis. As much as a good doctor knows, it’s impossible for one person to know it all. A letter received by Google from parents of a premie twin that were told he needed a blood transfusion talks about a very serious scenario in which doing a search on Google avoided a dangerous procedure.
I do wonder at what point it becomes standard operating procedure for medical staff to do searches to find the latest information before prescribing such a treatment. That would seem to be more productive than less-educated parents doing the searches. But, ultimately, we are our own best advocates for great health care, so it will always pay to be in the know ourselves.
This is a classic example of why it is so important to get second opinions and to check check and double check whatever doctors tell you–especially if it is negative information.