The paradox of treating pain in a system too full to manage it

My 13-year-old daughter was writhing on the floor from pain in her back and belly, a fever, and intermittent chest pains. She was two days out from a spine surgery intended to fix an 8-month-old gymnastics injury. She couldn’t take any steps on her own, and it was a three-person project just to get her from the couch to the chair.

“Go to the ER,” the hospital answering service said.

I tried …

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