When Is Enough Enough?

This past week I went to the doctor, after not feeling well for the better part of the prior two weeks.  I'm usually pretty healthy and am typically able to kick any sore throat, head cold type situation but in this case, it hung on for too long.  At several points during those two weeks, I often thought about going to the doctor but I was convinced I wasn't "sick enough."  I was not interested in making the time to get to the doctor only to be told it was "viral," and unable to be treated.

I was so convinced I wasn't "sick enough" even last Monday when I went to the doctor, I actually said to the doctor, I hope I have strep just so I would get antibiotics.  As it turns out, I had a sinus infection and I did get antibiotics and as a result I have finally started to feel like myself again.

This whole situation made me wonder about the mindset I had, which resulted in my reluctance to go unless I thought I was sick enough.  I'm not alone in this mindset either - I spoke to many people this week who were either sick themselves or understood my thinking.  This made me wonder further if this was something intentionally done by the medical community.  Was it based on good intentions, research or data?

I then started to wonder, what are the unintentional messages we are giving as an educational community?  How often do people think about reaching out to us but they worry that their concerns are not "enough?"  How do we engender reluctance in the people that we serve?

While I recognize there is not a direct correlation and my sinus infection pales in comparison to a serious medical condition, I do believe this is an area for growth.  We need to be able to listen to the concerns of families when it comes to their children, make them feel heard, even if there is no action that can be taken as a result.  Sometimes, acknowledging the struggle someone is working through is enough.

And that would be enough.