Before reading I just want to put a warning that my emotions were high during this post and I hope I don’t offend anyone who is going into healthcare or have family in healthcare.

As a little kid you are taught the basics; police officers arrest the criminals, firefighters put out the fire, dentists clean your teeth, teachers teach and lastly a doctor “helps” you with a stomach ache or something.

Well this can be true and untrue at the same time considering that we have this huge issue of doctors refusing treatment that occurs in the healthcare system since the 18th century. Sadly this is a recurring nightmare for POC because it continues to be a problem that POC don’t receive the same fair treatment as a non-colored person in the healthcare system. 20-30% are more likely to experience negative healthcare outcomes due to racial bias, now this percentage is continuing to be documented as research continues so this number could be higher or lower. But after hearing Lovejoy’s story about how she went misdiagnosed because she had something that only “white people” can have is sad and the fact that she had to endure the pain that she did because of that.

Now you’re probably thinking what does this got to do with me well I’ll tell you. Now I didn’t experience this first hand but I saw with my own eyes happen to my mother in 2019. My mom at the time had kidney stones that bothered her that entire year. She went in for multiple tests while it was still at its early stage of development and I think you can guess that of course the doctor’s found nothing wrong at the time. During that entire year of back and forth hospital trips they couldn’t seem to figure out what could be wrong with her (all they had to do was check her blood) and when they did start finally doing that after months my mom had endured severe bruising on her arm and it swelled up because they spent a whole 15 minutes poking her with IV because they couldn’t find her vein on my brown skinned and veins showing at all times mother. When they finally found the issue by switching through different hospitals and instated her in the hospital I had to hear the news from her doctor that she was even lucky to be still alive since she went so long being untreated.

The fact that I almost lost my mother to a system that you’re taught will help when you’re ill is frightening to see as a young black woman. Those memories of my mother being treated unjustly and watching and hearing her be in pain for months and feeling hopeless because there was nothing that professionals can do for her something I will never forget. I was 16 when this happened and now I’m 21 still in fear of what could happen to me if I were to fall ill and have to go to the hospital.