Hmmm . . . I thought that a coroner’s patient was already dead. True, but the information that she shares with surviving family members can save lives.
Such is our case. When Simon died, our coroner said, “Babies don’t just die. Get your hearts checked.” We did, and Phyllis discovered that she had Long QT Syndrome, an electrical abnormality of the heart’s rhythm. Without this advice, we would have been like thousands of other parents, wondering what SIDS really meant and feeling helpless.
A study out of the Mayo Clinic shows that 10 – 15% of SIDS deaths are attributed to Long QT Syndrome, but for some reason, this message is not being shared. Parents are not being advised to get their hearts checked when their baby dies. For so many, SIDS is the only explanation they’ll receive.
Whenever my Google alerts identify another SIDS death, I try to contact the coroner cited in the article. Today, I spoke with someone at the Blaine County Coroner’s Office in Idaho. A five month old child died last week. I just want to make sure that they considered the heart like our coroner did. I just want to make sure that the family gets all of the information.
I’ve learned that I can’t make that assumption.
