How Being a Patient Advocate Saved My Husband from Misdiagnosis

A few years ago, my husband called me while I was at work. I could immediately tell something was wrong. He stammered, “Hey, I’m at the Emergency Room. Bill brought me here.”

I already knew what was going on. He had been to the ER a few times for chest pains, and every time the doctors dismissed him with, “It’s just indigestion.” My husband is a tough guy. He would never go to the ER for something as simple as indigestion. But he also isn’t the best at advocating for himself as a patient. So I said, “Okay,” hung up the phone, and headed to the ER with a big chip on my shoulder.

My Own Experience With Misdiagnosis

The doctor we saw that day was a resident, and poor thing had no idea he was about to get his first taste of a

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