The Power of Connectivity: How It Saved My Sick Daughter

Almost exactly one year ago, my family was getting ready to pack up the car and head to Winnipeg. It's a trip we take every year to visit my in-laws. It's a little getaway we always look forward to. Our daughter Molly, who was four at the time, had not been herself in the days leading up to our trip. We considered staying home and postponing the trip but in the end, decided that perhaps getting away to visit her loving grandparents would do her some good. We also knew that we would be in good hands, staying with our family. So we packed up and made our way to Winnipeg.

Shortly after arriving in Winnipeg, our daughter's condition quickly went from bad to worse and we realized we needed help. It was a frightening time and we didn't know which course of action was the best. My husband made phone calls to some of our health professionals back in Saskatchewan and to the Children's Hospital in Winnipeg. We gathered as much information as we could and the consensus was to take her in to the hospital. Having the ability to just reach out and communicate with the people that could send us on the right path was a huge relief.

The medical staff at the Children's Hospital in Winnipeg were wonderful but ultimately they were unable to help us. It was time to get our little girl back home and keep trying to find answers and help. I spent the trip home desperately trying to seek out a doctor in Canada who was familiar with what we suspected was our daughter's condition. There was one. In BC. I wrote down her contact information because I had a feeling we were going to need it.

Once we returned home to Regina we made a few more calls and again decided to take Molly to the hospital. We ended up being admitted and spent the next week in the pediatric unit. The doctors ran test after test. A CAT scan, an EEG, an MRI and what seemed like endless rounds of blood tests. My husband and I stayed by our daughter's side. Being able to put fires out at work without having to leave our little one was a life saver. In the evenings when she was sleeping I caught up on what work I could and when it became clear that the doctors really had no answers and we were most likely not going to leave the hospital with a clear diagnosis I began emailing the specialist in BC I had researched.

After a week, we were discharged with a prescription and a possible diagnosis that I knew in my gut was wrong. I immediately set up an appointment with the doctor I had been emailing with and we had a proper consult by phone. Because we had just had a whole battery of tests done I was able to email her the results so we didn't have to start the entire process over again.

I am thrilled to tell you that because of the behind-the-scenes power of technology and being able to connect at lightning fast speeds, we were finally able to get a proper diagnosis for our daughter - all with the help of this doctor who is three provinces away. We began treatment immediately and our little girl began to improve right away. Within a few weeks, she was almost entirely back to her healthy, happy self. 

Today, a year later, Molly is still doing amazingly well. She still has her condition but we have it very much under control now. Her symptoms can - and probably will - reappear but now we have the tools, knowledge, and resources to help her if and when they do. One of the resources that has been absolutely invaluable to me is an online support group of parents who have gone through, or are currently going through, the same experience. Being able to connect with others who know exactly how it feels - well, I can't even put into words what that has done for my sanity. 

When I look back to a year ago, to the absolute fear and helplessness that I felt, my heart breaking watching my sweet little girl suffer so much, I am so grateful that, literally, with the touch of a button we were able to reach out and make the connections we needed to get through that. I don't know where Molly would be right now if we didn't have that ability to so quickly access the resources that otherwise would have been unavailable to us.