My dad spent three weeks in ICU. This is what I learnt about our health system

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I went into the hospital knowing nothing about our healthcare system. Those three weeks taught me life lessons that will never leave me.

I wasn’t prepared for the rollercoaster I was to ride when my dad became suddenly and critically ill just two months ago. I didn’t meet the ride’s height requirements and I hated the upside-down loops.

My dad’s time in the ICU was my first intimate encounter with our healthcare system – which is a privilege to say. But in those few short weeks, I learned lessons that will hold me through my next inevitable exchange. I thought I would spend day and night by Dad’s side, but most of the time I waited in the ICU reception or in the small adjoining “relatives’ room” filled with other distressed families.

As someone with limited knowledge of healthcare, questioning the expertise of workers who fight every day to keep strangers alive felt daunting and inappropriate. I now know that asking for a second opinion is not a symbol of distrust, but rather a message of love, and something we as consumers of our health system are entitled to.I learned that focusing on Dad’s long-term trajectory was more important than getting bogged down in the daily changes.

 

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