Dear moms, go to the doctor.

We are moms, therefore we don't have time for ourselves.  When we do get time, we try to do something nice for ourselves - read a book, get a pedicure, or go shopping.  Nothing wrong with that, I love a pedicure as much as anyone, but maybe the next time you get some free time it should be spent at the doctor's office.  As mothers, we are used to taking care of everyone else; we make sure that our kids go to the pediatrician for well checks and at the slightest hint of an ear infection, make their dentist appointments and generally take better care of our family members health than our own.  It needs to stop.  In case you didn't get the memo, we are not invincible, we are not immortal, and we need to wake up and pay attention.

A few months ago, my husband got a phone call from his best friend.  He and his wife were having a date night when things went horribly wrong.  His wife started feeling strange, her lips went numb, and he called 911.  She was having a stroke.  She was 36.  She has two girls who are 2 and 5.  Her husband is now a widower.  This could be any one of us. 
The next month, another friend passed away from cancer. She was 32.  Her daughter is 3.  Again, it could be any one of us.

It's so easy to get caught up in life and put our needs and our health last, and it is easy to forget that we are not invincible.  There are so many other things to do that we often push ourselves to the back of the line, resulting in sometimes deadly consequences.  There are some deaths that are not preventable, but there are also ones that are preventable.  Say you go to the doctor and he recommends a medication, but you never find time to go to the pharmacy to fill it.  Or, you don't go to the doctor at all.  I know women who delivered their babies and decided that that would be a good time to stop going to their annual appointments with their OB/GYN.  Not a smart move.  The time it takes to go to the doctor is worth the time that you will be alive for your children.  They need you.  They need you alive, and it is time to start taking care of yourself.  Your children will thank you.

We are moms, therefore we don't have time for ourselves.  When we do get time, we try to do something nice for ourselves - read a book, get a pedicure, or go shopping.  Nothing wrong with that, I love a pedicure as much as anyone, but maybe the next time you get some free time it should be spent at the doctor's office.  As mothers, we are used to taking care of everyone else; we make sure that our kids go to the pediatrician for well checks and at the slightest hint of an ear infection, make their dentist appointments and generally take better care of our family members health than our own.  It needs to stop.  In case you didn't get the memo, we are not invincible, we are not immortal, and we need to wake up and pay attention.

A few months ago, my husband got a phone call from his best friend.  He and his wife were having a date night when things went horribly wrong.  His wife started feeling strange, her lips went numb, and he called 911.  She was having a stroke.  She was 36.  She has two girls who are 2 and 5.  Her husband is now a widower.  This could be any one of us. 
The next month, another friend passed away from cancer. She was 32.  Her daughter is 3.  Again, it could be any one of us.

It's so easy to get caught up in life and put our needs and our health last, and it is easy to forget that we are not invincible.  There are so many other things to do that we often push ourselves to the back of the line, resulting in sometimes deadly consequences.  There are some deaths that are not preventable, but there are also ones that are preventable.  Say you go to the doctor and he recommends a medication, but you never find time to go to the pharmacy to fill it.  Or, you don't go to the doctor at all.  I know women who delivered their babies and decided that that would be a good time to stop going to their annual appointments with their OB/GYN.  Not a smart move.  The time it takes to go to the doctor is worth the time that you will be alive for your children.  They need you.  They need you alive, and it is time to start taking care of yourself.  Your children will thank you.