Mrs. Clark - It's heartbreaking to learn about your daughter, and it was probably painful for you to write, but I'm glad that you did. I encourage you to reach out to other parents who have lost their children, as there are few people who can understand how profoundly you are grieving as well as others who've been in your same shoes. SIDs Families is one such group, and can be found at http://www.sidsfamilies.com/.
The medical profession sometimes uses terms that seem very confusing. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome - SIDS - is used as a term that covers the unexpected, sudden death of a child under the age of one year in which an autopsy does not show an explainable cause of death.
I don't mean to cause you any additional pain, but do you know if an autopsy was done and if so, did you get a copy of the results? If a virus was involved then that should show on the autopsy results. You are entitled to this information and the hospital where she died should be able to tell you how to get the report.
As a lay person, it's hard for me to know exactly what happened to your daughter. It may help to find an unbiased pediatrician or nurse practitioner to meet with who can review all of the circumstances around your daughter's death and help you to better understand this. It would help them have as much clinical data as possible. You are entitled to, and should be able to get copies of, all of her medical records. You may have to pay copying charges to do this, and this will likely be hard to do so you may want to get a friend to help you in going after this information. You may also have to pay a consulting fee to meet with the medical professionals. I truly wish there was an easier way to follow up on this, but I want to address your concerns as honestly as possible.
The National SIDs Alliance provides support for families that are grieving the loss of a child, and they have helpful information on a lot of different areas that are going to come up soon that you haven't even thought about yet. They also have grief counselors who are available 24/7 at this number: 1-800-221-7437. The page on their website for families like yours is http://www.firstcandle.org/grieving-families/
I hope you will call one of their counselors after reading this. Please let me know if this helps, and if you need additional information. I'm sending you a big hug through the computer, and am happy to help as best I can.
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Mrs. Clark - It's heartbreaking to learn about your daughter, and it was probably painful for you to write, but I'm glad that you did. I encourage you to reach out to other parents who have lost their children, as there are few people who can understand how profoundly you are grieving as well as others who've been in your same shoes. SIDs Families is one such group, and can be found at http://www.sidsfamilies.com/.
The medical profession sometimes uses terms that seem very confusing. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome - SIDS - is used as a term that covers the unexpected, sudden death of a child under the age of one year in which an autopsy does not show an explainable cause of death.
I don't mean to cause you any additional pain, but do you know if an autopsy was done and if so, did you get a copy of the results? If a virus was involved then that should show on the autopsy results. You are entitled to this information and the hospital where she died should be able to tell you how to get the report.
As a lay person, it's hard for me to know exactly what happened to your daughter. It may help to find an unbiased pediatrician or nurse practitioner to meet with who can review all of the circumstances around your daughter's death and help you to better understand this. It would help them have as much clinical data as possible. You are entitled to, and should be able to get copies of, all of her medical records. You may have to pay copying charges to do this, and this will likely be hard to do so you may want to get a friend to help you in going after this information. You may also have to pay a consulting fee to meet with the medical professionals. I truly wish there was an easier way to follow up on this, but I want to address your concerns as honestly as possible.
The National SIDs Alliance provides support for families that are grieving the loss of a child, and they have helpful information on a lot of different areas that are going to come up soon that you haven't even thought about yet. They also have grief counselors who are available 24/7 at this number: 1-800-221-7437. The page on their website for families like yours is http://www.firstcandle.org/grieving-families/
I hope you will call one of their counselors after reading this. Please let me know if this helps, and if you need additional information. I'm sending you a big hug through the computer, and am happy to help as best I can.
Take good care of yourself,
July 14, 2010 - 6:23pmPat
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