12 STEPS TOWARD A MEDICAL "MIRACLE"
If you or someone you love is diagnosed with a life-threatening
illness, here are the positive steps you can take to insure the
best outcome possible. They don't add up to a guarantee, of course.
There are no guarantees in medicine. But that's actually good news
for people with a serious illness: Maybe you can't be absolutely
certain that the best will happen, but you also can't be certain --
no matter what your doctor says -- that the worst will happen.
- Take Control of Your Illness. You may think you're helpless, but
you're not. Take control of your life back with a combination of
information and attitude. Be a part of every decision about your
treatment. Resist the urge to leave it all in your doctor's
hands.
- Insist on Options. Forget about second opinions. Look instead for
second options. There are no absolutes in medicine, no
inevitabilities. There are multiple solutions to every problem.
You just have to find them. Don't be afraid of choices; embrace
them.
- Find the Right Doctor. Not all doctors are created equal. When
you're seriously ill, it's worth the extra effort to find the
best one for your condition. It can make the difference,
literally, between life and death.
- Build A Partnership With Your Doctor. A true partnership means
there are special responsibilities on both sides. Your part is to
be informed about your illness so you can ask questions -- you
can never ask too many questions. Your doctor's part is to answer
them all, fully and patiently.
- Recognize That All Medical Decisions Are Trade-offs. Again, there
are no right answers. Every decision regarding medical treatments
involves weighing costs against benefits. To strike the right
balance for you (everybody's balance is different) get all the
information you can, then look carefully inside yourself and
decide what really matters.
- Sustain A Claim to Life. A good attitude -- call it optimism or
"fighting spirit" or whatever isn't enough, no matter how
positive. You have to do something. A will to live has to be
accompanied by a commitment to living: join a support group, make
plans, set goals; "renew your membership in life."
- Find An Advocate (Or Be Your Own). In a managed care environment,
getting the best care can be a struggle. You can end up fighting
your doctor as well as your illness. If you haven't got enough
fight to go around, enlist an advocate to do the fighting for
you.
- Subdue The Enemy Within. Sooner or later, you'll hear a voice
question: "Why Me?" Learn to recognize self-pity and resist it.
Questions whatever bothers you; don't let this one. Not now.
Another feeling to resist: guilt. Yes, loved ones are going
through hell, but it's not your fault.
- Build A Support Network. You absolutely cannot get through this
alone. You have to depend on people. Family, friends, caregivers,
support groups, strangers, it doesn't matter, as long as it's
somebody. But don't expect more of people than is reasonable.
Don't expect family or friends to change just because you're
sick. Don't expect yourself to change.
- Don't Let The Disease -- Or The Treatment -- Change Who You Are.
Don't let the "I'm Still Here!" syndrome get the better of you.
Denial and surrender are bad, but survival at any cost is also
dangerous, just in a different way. If the disease, or the
treatment, changes who you are, then you've lost the battle
anyway.
- Know When To Draw The Line. There's a line beyond which the
price of survival is just too high, a line between what is worth
fighting for, and what is not. Thresholds of pain vary, as well
as thresholds of fear and uncertainty. Doctors often draw this
line for patients; draw it for yourself.
- Never Say Never. Everybody reacts to disease differently. Every
body reacts to drugs and treatment differently. Every doctor has
had patients who defied all the medical textbooks and prognoses.
They've all seen "hopeless" cases turn around. For all the
advancements in medical knowledge, the human body remains
wondrous strange-- and full of surprises.
I ran across this again recently, and realized it cannot be read
too often. I
don't know the author, but they must be a vital personality with an
attitude to emulate. Life is good, enjoy.
Steve Knight "Stevo".
Page modified .
Copyright © 2003-2008 All Rights Reserved Contact:
Management
|