A Father’s Essay on Missing His Daughter’s Heart Failure
Dr. Raj Panjabi describes how normalcy bias led him to overlook signs of his daughter Karuna’s heart failure. Her eating declined, her weight dropped sharply, and she became tired and short of breath, but early symptoms were attributed to picky eating or pneumonia. The essay argues that gradual health crises can be missed until they become acute.
Karuna’s parents initially treated her reduced eating as typical toddler selectivity. By her 18-month check, her weight had dropped off the growth curve and was below the vast majority of peers, prompting pediatrician concern, nutritionist visits, and PediaSure or formula supplements. Later, daycare staff noticed she preferred lying down while other children played.
As her fatigue, rapid breathing, and eye-area swelling worsened, a pediatrician suspected pneumonia, but antibiotics did not help. An urgent chest X-ray at Boston Children’s Hospital revealed an enlarged heart and fluid-filled lungs, confirming heart failure. The author connects this delayed recognition to gradual crises whose early signs are ambiguous.
This account may resonate with parents and caregivers who have dismissed subtle symptoms as minor or temporary. It could encourage clinicians and families to consider gradual deterioration, not only sudden crises, when children show feeding, weight, energy, or breathing changes. Its impact may be greatest in pediatric care, where earlier recognition could lead to timely evaluation, though individual cases vary and hindsight can make warning signs seem clearer than they were.