A Medical Mom Is Made of Toughness and Love

A medical mom is a mom who has a child with one or more medical complexities.

A medical mom is medically trained, educated, and knowledgeable about her own child, their diagnosis, medical history, symptoms, and treatments. She may not have formal medical training, but she has dug in, researched, investigated, and kept records from day one. She knows the ins and outs of the medical system because she navigates it every day and lives it with her child. A medical mom knows how precious life is and has lived both the longest and shortest seconds of life.

She knows how hard it is to pass her child off to a nurse, to trust in a surgeon, and the heartbreak of watching her child being wheeled towards the operating room. Whether the first time or the eighth, it is never any easier. She also knows that nothing compares to those first few exhilarating moments when you are reunited with your child in the recovery room.

She knows the terminology, diagnoses, and medical jargon and finds herself using the words in everyday life. She can recite off the top of her head the highlights of her child’s medical history, all the medications and dosages.

She is no stranger to administering medication and performing medical procedures daily at home. She is a regular at the pharmacy, and they know her by name. She knows the view from the back of an ambulance or a life flight.

It’s very likely that she has a bag packed and ready to go for hospital admittances, which includes things like an extension cord, lip balm, and a warm blanket and socks.

She knows what time doctors do morning rounds and what’s best on the cafeteria menu. She knows the beeps of the machine, can read test results, and takes vitals at home.

She knows that nothing is more heartbreaking than seeing her child sick and going through things that she cannot make all better.

She is very organized. She keeps track of treatments, her child’s extensive medical team, and all the appointments. She is no stranger to advocacy and has fought many battles for her complex child that many couldn’t even fathom.

She is perpetually exhausted not just from a lack of sleep but from the daily stress and responsibilities of being a caregiver. She will smile and say “okay” or “fine” when people ask how she is doing because the truth is beyond complex and the answer would pour out. She will only ask for help as a last resort. She has become accustomed to the daily grind of doing all the things—on her own.

She would never choose the life she lives, but she would never trade it either because her child is everything to her. A medical mom is strong and resilient. She is a different breed, out of necessity. She lives a level of hard many people would not understand, but she does it fiercely yet lovingly. Her love knows no bounds.

Originally published on the author’s Facebook page