Trusting a Mother's (Or Dad's) Intuition

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, the rational mind a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” - Albert Einstein

Do you trust your own Intuition? I have a very strong intuition, but I don’t always listen to it. I second guess myself and then over analyze or think too much.

However when there is an emergency with one of my children, I only have time to react using my intuition. That has turned out for the best many times.

When my oldest son was a toddler he became very sick. Months went by with him remaining sick. Once in the hospital a specialist was brought in who went in the lab and ran test himself in order to get the correct diagnosis. He saved my son’s life. Twice!

The staff doctor argued about the specific diet my son was to have. Something inside of me knew my son would die if that doctor was allowed to limit my son’s diet. He had already lost half his body weight and still didn’t feel like eating.

I was able to find the specialist, before he was about to leave the hospital to fly back home. He totally agreed with me, placed hospital orders for my son, and had a talk with the staff doctor before leaving.

When my youngest son was an infant and very sickly from being 10 weeks premature, he was in the hospital for pneumonia for the 3rd time. The doctor ordered the same antibiotic that had never worked in the past. He always started off with that one, only to order something else a week later. It had happened 3 previous times.

I spoke up and asked if he ever looked at my son’s chart to see that Amoxicillin never worked. He told me that I wasn’t a doctor. I told him he wasn’t God and that medical charts were kept for a reason. I requested another doctor, who agreed that my son needed a strong antibiotic ‘that worked’. He ordered the one that had worked previously and immediately. That may have saved his life.

Another time, my oldest son had a lifting accident in which 340 pounds fell on his foot. His little toe was smashed, with the bone sticking out and all. He layer in the emergency room for hours before they finally gave him something for the pain and an ER doctor was available to see him.

That ER doctor was very arrogant and abrupt. He said they were busy and that my son really needed an orthopedic surgeon. However he also said that they wouldn’t be able to get one off the golf course on a Saturday in July. So he was just going to wrap up my son’s foot and send him home. Told me I could call an orthopedic surgeon on Monday. Two days from then.

Again, my intuition kicked in and I said NO! That I wanted an orthopedic surgeon today! The nurses started making phone calls. Meanwhile the ER doctor pulls me from my son to yell at me. He said I embarrassed him in front of his nurses and that there was nothing an orthopedic surgeon could do that he couldn’t.

I’m pretty sure they would disagree, given their extensive extra training. This doctor was too busy and didn’t do anything but offer to wrap my son’s foot, with the bone sticking out and all.

The orthopedic surgeon did come off the golf course that day. However he certainly didn’t mind and was glad I had insisted. The surgeon said my son would have had Gangrene by that following Monday; two days after the accident. He said my son would have lost at least his foot if I had waited. My son still lost his toe during surgery but the surgeon was able to save his foot. So again I was glad that my intuition kicked in and that I listened to it.

"Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do." - Benjamin Spock

So trusting our Parental Intuition can save our child's life!  Have any of you had similar experiences?