Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2009. You maybe confused as to what you are actually seeing in this photo. I am on the floor in grey and Mattie's physical therapist, Anna, was right next to me. Except our roles were reversed. Mattie was the therapist barking out exercises and we were his patients trying to comply. Anna was a great sport with Mattie. As I always said, Anna started out a great therapist, but after 14 months with Mattie, she became what I would call an outstanding therapist. Mattie pushed every button of hers possible, but she never gave up. She always pursued ways to inspire Mattie to move and use his body again. Even if that meant participating in her own movements and therapy routines.
Quote of the day: I will not hide my grief as I did not hide my love. ~ Angela Miller
I woke up this morning feeling just awful. I did not communicate that to Peter at first and we went about doing last minute work for the Foundation think tank next week. However as the morning continued on, I snapped. I couldn't move another inch or do another thing. Every part of me hurt, ached, and I felt congested. It finally dawned on me, I am not tired, I am sick. So I spent the entire day in bed running a fever and just got off the phone with my doctor's office. Since I have to travel next week to Florida, I know it wouldn't be wise for me to wait to get antibiotics. All I can say is thank goodness for phones, electronic prescriptions, and drug stores open 24 hours a day.
I would say I also learned in Mattie's cancer battle and death, to advocate for myself and others within the medical community. If you don't do it, you won't get adequate care. This is not a slight on the medical profession, it is just the reality of the system. The more you advocate and be direct about what you want, the more likely you will get it. I no longer talk with a doctor simply about my symptoms. Instead I lay out a succinct history and then I make a direct ask for the medication I need. We are forced to do this as patients because doctors don't have the time to dig deeper into our stories and to hear our issues and problems. In other words we have to connect the dots for them regarding our own medical history and needs.
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