ems worsened considerably, and my wife and I thought that he might suffocate and die. So, in a desperate attempt to remedy Antonio's health, we brought our boy to the nearest hospital. Our infant was then diagnosed with double pneumonia.
Antonio was immediately treated by two doctors, Dr. Joseph Goin and Dr. Vajay Bhardnaj. Dr. Goin was very helpful. However, my wife and I did not know that there was no infant care unit at the Welch Emergency Hospital. Thus, when Goin informed us that our boy would have to be admitted immediately into an infant care unit, we asked where the nearest infant care unit was located. Goin then advised us that, since the nearest hospital with an infant care unit was a three-hour drive from the Welch Emergency Hospital, we should all make arrangements for the dying boy to be flown to the hospital, which was only 20 minutes away by helicopter, but that, in the meantime, Goin could perform life-saving treatment. Thus, Dr. Goin used an old-fashioned oxygen tent, a spinal tap, and fluids to save our baby's life.
Antonio later arrived safely at the Women and Children's Hospital, a division of the Charleston Area Medical Center in Charleston, West Virginia. He was immediately placed in the hospital's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, where he remained for six days.
Looking back, I realize the importance of living in communities which have facilities that can provide quality medical care. I learned that the first doctor who diagnosed my son committed malpractice by failing to recognize that what looked like the common cold was actually Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). The pediatrician's mistake almost cost my infant boy his life. After Antonio was taken to the emergency room at the Welch Emergency Hospital, I learned that, when someone's life is at stake, the distance from a medical facility which can provide quality care is sometimes a life-determining issue.
Thus, one of the less...