Believe it or not, there really are some terrific doctors who care and try their darndest to get it right. That's my kind of doc. If a doctor had read ALL of Joe's long history, they were A#1 in my book, and I did quiz them to make sure they had read the history list, It was 4 pages long in a very small font. The ones that didn't, I had no respect for.
Joe ended up with the best of the best that we had around here because he was just way too complicated for anyone else.
It's when you get "handed off" to another doctor while in the hospital and they take over your care and don't consult with any of your regular doctors that the danger zone starts. And it can be a scary thing. They don't have a vested interest in you and they treat you like a "thing".
I actually brought in a blown up picture of Joe when he was healthy and pasted it on the wall, and wrote on the bottom in big letters, "I am a human being".
I got some pretty huffy comments from a couple of nurses. Did I care--NO. It stayed on the wall.
Thanks for your comments, Deb. I hope I inspire others to be a strong advocate. It's so important.
I think it helped Joe to live much longer than he would have, because I wouldn't put up with much nonsense, and they knew they'd be "caught".
I used to be a shy thing, just like every other person.
