Tuesday, November 13, 2012

I Am Patient, Just Not A Patient


I have never really been a patient. Aside from annual reproductive exams, a couple sutures here and there, and that one take-over by poison ivy that nearly killed me—I have been lucky enough to avoid doctors. I’ve never suffered a broken bone, been hospitalized, or contracted any kind of disease/virus/condition that required long-term care. Hell, I’ve never even had an IV.

Sure, I’ve spent lots of time in hospitals and with doctors in offices. But, I was always on the giving side, not the receiving side. As a Hospital Corpsman in the Navy while on active duty and reservist duty, I worked full time in hospitals and doctors’ offices—providing care to sick and injured Navy and Marine members. Then after I fulfilled my contract, I worked in the medical community for 6 more years on the “outside” as a Medical Assistant alongside 3 different specialists. I learned a ton about human anatomy, medical science, the inside of our healthcare system, and medical billing. I got really good at performing sutures and placing IV’s.   

Now, I’m suddenly a patient—like the many I cared for—I’m on the receiving end of the medical questions and needles. And so far, I don’t like it one bit.

Along with becoming a patient, my priorities have abruptly switched gears without my approval. Just a couple weeks ago, student loan payments, scheduling my next tattoo session, and designing my Halloween costume for trick-or-treating with my nephew, were my top priorities. Instead however, I canceled my tattoo appointment (to not add to my body’s inventory of wounds to heal) and completely missed Halloween to make way for my first 2-hour oncology consultation. This is not what I want, not at all. I want to go back to worrying about our broken oven, debating my uncle about hunting on Facebook, celebrating the small steps in progress my new shy cat takes, pushing myself to go to the gym, protesting animal testing labs with strong friends, and planning a vacation with my husband. Now, that’s all on the back burner when I so badly want it on the front again.
Stupid cancer literature is now taking priority over my usual reading.

With this dreaded diagnosis, comes a mountain of reading and research. The animal rights magazines and earth-loving books I love now take a back seat to informational pamphlets and breast cancer guides. Quiet evenings with my husband drinking wine and watching movies, now give way for serious, brow-dropping cancer treatment strategy meetings. It’s true, facing a disease like this is like having a second job. A full time second job that doesn’t pay, renders you less attentive and sometimes absent as a friend, consumes most of your thoughts, and delivers you to cheerless places where every new encounter greets you with weight measurements and blood pressure readings. 

3 comments:

  1. What was the tattoo gonna be? You have two cats now? I have a hard time convincing this site I'm not a robot.

    ReplyDelete

  2. WHAT A GREAT MIRACLE THAT I HAVE EVER SEE IN MY LIFE. My names are Robert Mary
    I’m a citizen of United Kingdom, My younger sister was Sicking of
    breast cancer and her name is Robert Jane, I and my family have taking
    her to all kind of hospital in UK still yet no good result. I decided
    to go to the internet and search for cancer cure so that was how I
    find a lady called Sarah peter she was testifies to the world about
    the goodness of a herbal man who has the root and half to cure all
    kind of disease and the herbal email was there. So I decided to
    contact the herbal man for my younger sister help to cure her breast
    cancer. I contacted him and told him my problem he told me that I
    should not worry that my sister cancer will be cure, he told me that
    there is a medicine that he is going to give me that I will cook it
    and give it to my sister to drink for one week, so I ask how can I
    receive the cure that I am in UK, he told me
    That I will pay for the delivery service. The courier service can
    transport it to me so he told me the amount I will pay, so my dad paid
    for the delivery fee. two days later I receive the cure from the
    courier service so I used it as the herbal man instructed me to,
    before the week complete my sister cancer was healed and it was like a
    dream to me not knowing that it was physical I and my family were very
    happy about the miracle of Doctor so my dad wanted to pay him 5
    million us dollars the herbal man did not accept the offer from my
    I should tell the world about him and his miracle he perform so am now
    here to tell the world about him if you or your relative is having any
    kind of disease that you can't get from the hospital please contact
    Dr.ogididanspelltemple@gmail.com or WhatsApp him +2347067393105 for the cure, he will help you out
    with the problems.

    ReplyDelete