Things Are Sometimes Just Out of Your Control
No matter how hard we try to do the right thing, eat the right foods, drink enough water, etc things can’t happen that we don’t expect. This happened to me last week. My intern, Miranda and I were working hard getting the office ready for two big events, the official Ribbon Cutting with the Chamber of Commerce and our Community Health Fair. The ribbon cutting was scheduled for Thursday the 25th. The day before we were doing some last minute clean up and organizing when all of a sudden I felt like I got hit by a ton of bricks. It didn’t go away. We ended up closing the office at 2pm, planning to return the following morning to finish. Well, that didn’t happen. At about 7pm Wedesday night, I ended up going to the ER and was diagnosed with pneumonia. WHAT?!?! I had no idea I was even sick until a few hours before. I was in the hospital for 5 days.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a good patient. I have been managing my diabetes for decades and my sarcoidosis for years. I know what works, what doesn’t and how my body works.
I will say that the hospitals are great for emergency medicine and acute conditions. When it comes to managing chronic illness, however, they have a lot to learn. I understand that they have policies and procedures in place and have to get a doctor’s approval for just about everything, but it can get ridiculous. I saw at least 4 different doctors and none of them were on the same page about anything. The nurses tried to give me an insulin dosage that was measure for my blood sugar reading done an hour and a half prior and before breakfast. Diabetes simply doesn’t work that way. When I told her to check my blood sugar again to get the dosage correct, I was told that she was unable to do so because I wasn’t “scheduled” for it. This obviously didn’t sit well with me and I got a little angry. This was my last day there and instead of having to wait a few hours to see the doctor and be released, I was out of the hospital within an hour. I believe they were as ready to get rid of me as I was to leave.
I am not one to normally raise my voice to a stranger, but when it comes to my health, I will stand up for myself Especially if I know what they are doing is wrong.
I won’t even get into the food I was given. That’s a whole different story entirely.
Simply put, “if you see something, say something.” If you know your body, what works for you and what doesn’t, speak up. It’s your health and your life. They need to respect that.
