Facebook Saved My Son's Life

Facebook Saved My Son's Life

Facebook Saved My Son's Life. Mother's Day morning, my 4-year-old woke up with a rash. It was my 16th Mother's Day. I was inclined to ignore rashes. But a note had just come home from day care reporting a case of strep in Leo's classroom, so I dutifully felt his forehead, noted it was hot, and made an appointment at a medical office with Sunday hours. While waiting for the results of the strep test, feeling bored and somewhat sorry for myself, I snapped a photo of my son on the exam table playfully covering his face with his blankie, which I then posted to Facebook with the following caption: "Nothing says Happy Mother's Day quite like a Sunday morning at the pediatrician's."

The rapid strep test came back negative, but none of my three kids' in-office strep tests have ever come back positive, even when they have strep. Plus Leo's fever was on the rise. "He looks really streppy," said the doctor on call. "I think we should treat him for strep, and if his throat culture comes back negative, you can reassess with your family doctor."

"Great," I said, happy to have the prescription for Amoxicillin in hand. I was on a tight deadline to hand in revisions on my new novel. The fewer days of daycare Leo missed, the better. I logged onto Facebook and saw that many of my friends and "friends" had already commented under the new photo, wanting to know what was wrong. Three years earlier, when I reluctantly joined Facebook in an effort to monitor the online bullying of my eldest, it was inconceivable to me that complete strangers would ever fret over my child's welfare, never mind that the act of posting itself has become as integral to my daily existence as talking, writing, thinking, dreaming.

"Strep," I tapped with my thumbs on my iPhone. "No biggie." No use going into the whole, Well, it could be strep, but we're not sure; like answering a tossed off "How are you?" with a litany of minor complaints. Besides, what else could it be? Nothing this veteran mother had ever seen. I filled the prescription at the nearest pharmacy and fed Leo his first dose. The sooner he took it, I knew, the sooner he'd be better.

Read more article: slate