Meet the women of the book, “Make Your Mess Your Message”.
This past week I spoke with Tracie Frank Mayer (Chapter 5 – Fighting For My Son’s Life), author of the internationally acclaimed book,Incompatible with Nature-Against the Odds: A parent’s Memoir of Congenital Heart Disease Nature.
Tracie is a self-described rebel, writer and speaker. To learn more about Tracie, visit her website at https://www.traciemayer.com
Tracie’s 5 tips for parents who are fighting for their child’s life saving medical care:
- “Do not be afraid of a doctor in a white coat. I know that each of us has our own problems at the end. We’re not the only patients, but you must be brave. You must speak up. You must tell the doctor what you see. You must ask questions and be diligent. And, don’t be in fear when you have to deal with a doctor.”
- “The next thing is very important is to keep watch and ward. This is extremely important. This is very important for me and Mark, because one day Mark was- I don’t remember seven, eight years old. And he was suffering from endocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart. And, we were in the hospital for over a month and the doctors could not find what was wrong with him. And so finally, we thought we were finding out what was going on. And so the professor was making his rounds and he came in with his, his head doctor. And so he asked her, so how was Mark today? What medications did he have? Did he have? And she flips her hair over her shoulder. And from her incredible memory, she starts stating all these medications Mark had. So I’m looking at my notes and unbeknownst to myself for all my brow. And so the professor looks at me and he says, “is something not right?” And I said, no, that’s not correct what she said at 11 o’clock – He had this. And then at 1:30, he had that. So, I mean, we can all make a mistake, but when it comes to our healthcare and our lives, we must be diligent. And if you can have four eyes with you, that’s even better, but take notes, be diligent.”
- “You’ve got the computer, the internet access, do your diligence and find out, find options. Don’t just leave it up to the doctors. That’s what I’m trying to say. We can try to help the doctors help us.”
- “Next thing is to have hope. If I didn’t have hope that my child would survive, I don’t know if he would have, and when we’re struggling and we’re in the dark bouncing against walls, we need that ray of light that shines through hope.”
- “That helps us to have faith. And we must have faith. It is truly the confidence in what we hope for in that thing that we cannot see. We have to keep our faith. And lastly, and this, this is huge for me, that is to never give up. My dad always said, you know, it, ain’t no giving up and no giving out. And that is the honest truth. Never give up because if you give up, the only thing that can happen is that you end up going through life stooped with your head bowed. We then have to deal with the thought of what would have happened if I had just tried a little more and nobody wants to live with”
Tracie can also be found at:
blog: www.menopausebarbees.com
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tracie.mayer
twitter: https://twitter.com/tlmayer
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracieme1
linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tracie-mayer-71506728
