Research that benefits children and families- Uplifting stories

I will share about a crisis that a family I know experienced. Their 11 year old daughter had been complaining about terrible headaches and awful stomach pains for months. She had to be picked up from school many days because of these aches. Her parents decided to take her to the doctor because they thought that something had to be wrong. Parents made an appointment at their local pediatrician and after extensive consultation and one test after another the doctors decided that something was eating away a part of her skull and they would have to operate. They did not investigate the stomach pains and when the family asked they were told that that will be dealt with later.  This meant that a section of her skull was going to be removed and replaced with metal.  

The family was not satisfied with that decision so they sought other opinions. An involved organization went ahead and did some checking and got them in touch with a group of Christian doctors. These doctors interviewed the family, reviewed the forwarded files and took two weeks to pour over research of other similar cases and arrived at the diagnosis that the child may have Celiac disease. A biopsy confirmed the diagnosis, a procedure was done and within forty eight hours, the child was cleared to be released from the hospital and placed on a gluten-free diet regime and the family went home.

The child has been improving steadily since, no more headaches or stomachache plaguing her and so her social life is improving. Her grades are back to normal and this is because of the research that is constantly done to increase knowledge and improve standard of living for children and their families.

More information about Celiac Disease  is available at http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/

My Personal Research Journey

The topic that I chose for the research simulation is “Does educating families about vaccines play a role in preventing childhood diseases”? This is an interesting topic for me because I have often heard parents and even families discussing their fears of letting their children be vaccinated. At one time I was even challenged on the question of having my second child vaccinated. There are many arguments supporting the potential of the child getting certain diseases after being given shots. There are many parents who have taken the decision to not have their babies vaccinated and it is believed that this will endanger many children lives.

I came across an interview article on Scholastic (2014) that was done by Parent and Child magazine, with a public health expert entitled “The vaccine debate” and the opening paragraph grabbed my attention, and I quote “The number of young children who are not fully vaccinated for preventable diseases has been steadily increasing over the last decade. More and more, parents are claiming non-medical exemptions from routine vaccinations — leaving their children, their children's classmates, and other children in their communities vulnerable to diseases”(para.1). This has increased my interest because as an early childhood professional, I know I will meet families with this challenge. I would love to be able to give them resources to consult and therefore make informed decisions in regards to their child’s well-being.

My personal experience with the simulation process is the growth that I am experiencing in looking at research as a tool, in improving my knowledge and skills as a professional in the early childhood field. The research chart is a great idea, it aids my maneuvering the language of research that is still considered a little challenging for me. I am reading for wisdom and guidance as we travel this journey. We are a great source of help and support to one another in this course. I truly appreciate your help everyone, please feel free to give me ideas and suggestions as to where am going with this topic. I have been learning so much from all of you and I am truly grateful for the experience. I      want to encourage every one of us to keep going because we are all in this together and so, we will all get through this.

I found a research process flow chart that was very helpful to me as well when I was anxious about research and the complexities of doing one. I know that everyone has formulated their questions but I still included it.

References

The Research Process Flow chart. (2004). Retrieved July 8 from http://www.shoulderdoc.co.uk/documents/research_flowchart.pdf

The Vaccine Debate. (n.d.). Scholastic.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014, from http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/parent-child/vaccine-debate