Internet

General
21

I have been interested in this thread for a while, and I wanted to offer a different perspective. The Internet changed my son's future. We got better information, a better doctor, and better treatment for him because I researched his condition on the Internet. Yes, I scared myself silly and had some very unhappy weeks, but then I got myself together and put the information I was reading to good use. If I had blindly trusted his initial doctors, things would not have turned out as well for us.

Using the internet, I have helped friends and family as well as some of our members get the right diagnosis for a variety of genetic conditions -- Turner Syndrome, Marfan Syndrome, and neurofibromatosis, to name a few. All of them were under a doctor's care for years without their conditions being discovered, despite exhibiting classic symptoms. Because I researched for them and told them my findings, they were able to get proper care.

I believe that using the Internet makes us more informed patients and has the potential to make our doctors better as well.

22

Great point Dancermom, thank you. Yes the inmternet can be a wonderful benefit (although initially scary) as was your ultimate experience. It has some great sites as well (like this one ;). This certainly deserves mentioning. Thank you for that perspective. You are a gem. It's never good to "blindly trust doctors" (at least the first one) and even Ben advocates that "knowledge is empowerment". All the best to you and your son. :J

23

Great point. The Internet can be a great educator, but we must consider the source, as some say.