FINE
On this eve of my 55
birthday, I find myself blessed to be healthy fit and feeling well. Devoid of any
chronic illnesses I am happy to be here sharing this planet with so many
friends and family. I began consciously caring for my health and welfare around
30 after a serious back injury caused by a traffic accident. I could hardly
pick up my daughter and for the first time in my life I questioned my ability
to protect myself and my family. 30 years old I was being told that I would not
fully recover even with surgery. The treatment plan for pain management was not
acceptable to me. Now approaching 55 years old in less than 13 hours I am fit
and my health is fine.
I tell you this not to brag
but to encourage you no matter your status to not give up hope. You have the ability
to improve your health but you need to take charge of your health in a
conscious and informed fashion. I listened to the doctors for the diagnosis not
their prognosis since they did not know me or the barriers I’d already
overcome. Some of these barriers should have stopped me in my tracks
particularly if I listened to the doctors on several occasions as a child and
young adult. Their words were cold and deceiving as they pretended to know me
and assumed that I would be their average patient. Take your actuarial charts
and burn them baby I do not fit your mold and neither do you.
So for the first time at age
30 I began consciously making decisions and doing something about my health.
Weight resistance was my program of choice and to this day I still love lifting
weights and it has served me well. Hard work and determination to be better
along with consistent attention to my health and I am blessed to be free of
many of the chronic illnesses that are impacting the lives of my family,
friends and peers. I thank God and pray for those who are experiencing a reduced
quality of life due to illness. May you be blessed as I have, with the gift of
recovery and the motivation and energy to become a pro-active advocate and
participant in your wellness plan.
I
encourage you first and foremost to stop being a patient and become a consumer
of health care. The difference is more than perception or
rhetoric and it requires active participation in the process. In fact it really
requires you to take the lead once the diagnosis is verified by at least 2
sources. I am reminded to get a second
opinion every time I see the scars on my skin because if I had I would have
been diagnosed and treated early without the scarring. Take a lesson from me
and actively participate. Ask questions, investigate medications and treatment
plans, research your doctor’s history of success and make certain you are making
decisions about your treatment and wellness. A good confident professional will
appreciate your participation and welcome your input.
A good place to start is the
internet since there are certified websites that can assist you in building
your knowledge base. In fact a couple of years ago my mother was ill with a
rash and low grade fever for several weeks despite seeing several doctors. My
older sister did some research on Web Md and actually got the diagnosis before
the doctors did. We told him what we thought and he agreed and admitted that it
was not his first thought. She was treated and recovered quickly from what
seemed to be a mysterious and debilitating illness. Our participation made a
big difference.
In most cases though we will
have to rely on the medical professionals for the diagnoses but once we have it
and we are armed with our own knowledge base regarding treatment we do have a
choice although it does not always seem so. The body is built to heal and will
often do so without highly intrusive treatments such as surgery, long term pain
management, or other medications that negatively impact other areas of your health.
Health and wellness is not the goal of the medical profession since they do not
believe they can make money with wellness. They are focused on diagnoses and
management since it is the management that keeps us coming back and fills their
coffer. If their focus was wellness you would not have to manage your condition
over long periods of time.
But do not point your finger
at the medical profession. Ask not, what can the doctor do for me? Ask what can
I do for me? Hopefully in this New Year you have already started and I believe
many of you have since the gym attendance seems to be on the uptick right now.
If you are one of the new or returning gym members I encourage you to continue
and pick up the pace next week. If you haven’t there is still plenty of time to
Get Up Get Moving on the road to a
healthier lifestyle for you and your loved ones. On this eve of my 55th
birthday I am reminded of something my elders often said, “Thank God I have my
Health.” Happy New Year Everyone and remember………
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