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My youngest son Tobias was only three days old when he was rushed to
hospital with a life-threatening bacterial infection. Fortunately, he
recovered and is now a very healthy three year old. The doctors did not
know why he had become this ill. They said it was just bad luck.
When he was in hospital he received the best of treatments, for which I am
naturally very grateful. What the doctors forgot however, was how deeply
this whole incident can affect a parent.
Three years later I am still trying to come to terms with the threat of
disease. Every fever, cough rings my alarm bells. Often without a need. I
am now receiving cognitive behavioural therapy to try to learn to make the
right distinction again between false alarm and when there is a real need
to feel concerned about Tobias' health. My therapist tells me that
obtaining the right information about symptoms like fever is one of the
methods to bring everything back into perspective. The article by Joe Kai
confirms this belief.
False alarm
My youngest son Tobias was only three days old when he was rushed to
hospital with a life-threatening bacterial infection. Fortunately, he
recovered and is now a very healthy three year old. The doctors did not
know why he had become this ill. They said it was just bad luck.
When he was in hospital he received the best of treatments, for which I am
naturally very grateful. What the doctors forgot however, was how deeply
this whole incident can affect a parent.
Three years later I am still trying to come to terms with the threat of
disease. Every fever, cough rings my alarm bells. Often without a need. I
am now receiving cognitive behavioural therapy to try to learn to make the
right distinction again between false alarm and when there is a real need
to feel concerned about Tobias' health. My therapist tells me that
obtaining the right information about symptoms like fever is one of the
methods to bring everything back into perspective. The article by Joe Kai
confirms this belief.
Thank you.
Else Smits
Competing interests: No competing interests