Dear Lit Loves,
Greetings fellow lit loves! The latest newly released memoir in my reading queue has not arrived yet; therefore, I had a request from a supporter to please write a blog post about how to know when it is time to fire a doctor or medical specialist since I have immense experience with the medical profession as a patient and patient advocate. No problem. This one is right up my dirt road.
First, it should be noted that I have medical specialists for gastrointestinal issues (colitis), eye problems (Uveitis, Uveitic Glaucoma and Retina Swelling), inner ear disease (Meniere's disease), skin issues (Basal Cell Carcinoma), a neurology disorder (tension migraines), autoimmune disorder (undetermined but treated with an oral chemo drug) and I'm seen regularly by a medical specialist who treats me for anxiety, insomnia and post traumatic stress disorder. Additionally, I also was my dad's health advocate through CHOP chemo, a stem cell transplant and monoclonal antibody therapy utilized to treat his diagnosis of Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma CD30+ and I also assisted my mom with her treatment for breast cancer.
After more than thirty years of being treated for one unusual illness after another, I've learned when I need to stop seeing a medical specialist and find a new one. For instance, let me explain my most recent experience when I moved from Georgia to North Carolina and was referred to a medical specialist that obviously did not have my best health interests in mind.
Red Flags That Indicate You May Need To Fire A Doctor And Find A New Medical Specialist:
1) First, I arrived at the office of a specialist I was referred to by a doctor who treated me in Atlanta. When I arrived at the office front desk, the staff was entirely "off task". In other words, instead of checking me in as a patient, they were especially enthused about the Carolina Panthers and their success in the 2015 NFL season. Finally, a receptionist got around to addressing me as I stood there waiting to write my copay and confirm my appointment with the doctor. It was also interesting that the receptionist handed me paperwork which should be filled out prior to my appointment with the doctor. This paperwork would take about twenty minutes to completely finish. I asked why this questionnaire hadn't been sent to me in the mail prior to my appointment, but the receptionist had no idea why I had not received it earlier.
2) I never had time to complete the medical questionnaire because I had only arrived fifteen minutes prior to my appointment time and it would have taken me twenty minutes to complete the questionnaire. No worries. A nurse called me back for my appointment and took the questionnaire even though I informed her it was not completed. And I never got the chance to complete the forms. So I guess that information wasn't important or was not pertinent to my case?
3) The fellowship doctor who arrived in the patient room to see me first had no information on my patient history nor did she have any of my medical records from my previous doctor. She had the form I faxed to the doctor in Atlanta who obviously had at some point done her job and faxed the new doctor her notes on my case and my test results; however, the fellowship physician could not locate those notes or test results. She actually said she thought they had most likely been misplaced or lost.
4) The new physician arrives to examine me and does not really adequately know my medical history because she had not already discussed my case history with my previous doctor. Nor had the physician bothered to locate the notes and test results that her office had misplaced. The doctor listens as I tell her I've been successfully treated for my illness for 28 years via medication, but then tells me her preference for my treatment would be surgery and shots to the inner ear. (In my opinion if the medication I'm taking has worked for 28 years why would you fix what obviously ain't broken, you know what I mean?)
5) Though I reviewed with the new physician my medication regimen that has been successfully keeping the illness under control, she dismisses the treatment entirely and believes her treatment plan of surgery and shots is the best treatment option for me. That might be the most expensive option and highest reimbursement option for her, but it wasn't the best treatment regimen for me.
6) The new physician refuses to refill any of the medications the previous doctor had me taking. If some of the medications were stopped completely and without tapering, I might have suffered serious side effects which would have left me in a very bad condition.
7) The new physician sends me to her audiology department for $1500 worth of hearing tests, but then says she cannot go over the results of those tests with me today as she's too busy. The doctor then says we will go over the hearing test results during my return appointment IN SIX MONTHS!
8) It is also especially disrespectful if a doctor does not take the time to sit with a patient, look them in the eye and have an open discussion about the patient's illness. I had a doctor get up during my discussion with her and begin to locate her medical instruments she would use to check my inner ear so in essence her back was to me while I was attempting to have a conversation with her. This says to me that she doesn't not believe I am an important patient nor is my case.
9) I always take someone with me to most of my appointments with a new doctor because I like to have someone else's opinion regarding what he/she thought of the doctor and his/her behavior, comments and efforts to help me. The person I took with me to see this particular doctor felt as I did that there was a definite lack of adequate follow through regarding my case history and the doctor conducted the appointment in a hurried manner. Plus, the doctor left me without the ability to obtain refills for medications I had been taking for several years and did not go over my test results with me.
10) I often ask a doctor or specialist how they feel the doctor/patient relationship works. The best possible scenario is that a doctor collaborates with a patient on their treatment plan and doesn't assume he or she is the guru and you as a patient just follow her orders. It's a two way street in my opinion. We both should be working together to design an optimal treatment plan for my diagnosis. If this isn't the case, I leave and know it's time to locate a more qualified and respectful specialist.
Here's wishing you good health along with the patience and good fortune to locate the best doctor
or specialist you can.
Truly,
Grace
(Amy)
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Out With NC House Bill 2 And Out With Gov. Pat McCrory
Dear Lit Loves,
Well folks, this is not going to be a post about the latest memoir book release. This is about NC House Bill 2 which NC Governor Pat McCrory and our lawmakers pushed through the legislative branches of our government in a single day. It's a ludicrous bill and it discriminates against the LGBT community. It basically says that a transgender person must utilize the restroom of the gender on their birth certificate, not the gender with which they identify. And supposedly, this law is for the safety of children. I don't have children, but I would be more worried about protecting them from pedophiles which most law enforcement profilers describe as generally middle to upper class white males. Folks, this mess of legislation is against the law. It promotes and sanctions discrimination. Last time I checked, that's illegal.
Recently, on my local NC evening news television station I saw one set of people protesting peacefully against the HB2 law in downtown Raleigh and then I saw what appeared to be evangelical, conservative so-called "christians" standing at a podium yelling their endorsement of this HB2 bill. How hypocritical! And worse, I next saw a person who was part of the group endorsing the law walk over and get in the face of the folks peacefully protesting against the law. See who exactly was the aggressor in this situation? Let's apply the christian motto of "What Would Jesus Do?" right here, right now. I don't think Jesus or at least the one I came to know as a Methodist would endorse this law and I know he would not have been trying to pick a fight with a person peacefully protesting against the law in downtown Raleigh, NC.
This HB2 law is going to hit North Carolina in the wallet. Oh yes, businesses are already pulling plans for job growth in North Carolina; musicians are cancelling concerts; conventions that were to take place in North Carolina, mark my words, will be cancelled and rightly so. The backlash is just beginning. I foresee federal funds being taken away from NC secondary and post secondary schools. So you know what I'm going to do in November? I am voting out Governor Pat McCrory and any NC lawmaker who voted to pass this legislation cause the last thing we need more of in this state is more Bigots. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to allow ignorant and intolerant lawmakers cause North Carolina to become known as the "backassward" state. No, not on my watch.
And to the folks of TownDock.net in Oriental, North Carolina who supposedly created this satirical blog piece depicting a woman in a white lab coat wearing blue lab gloves and wearing a "gender compliance officer" sign, let me say this: I didn't find it funny; I didn't find it amusing; I found it insulting. And by the way, the woman in the accompanying blog picture who was posing as the gender compliance officer? Grandma from The Beverly Hillbillies just called and she wants her hairstyle back and I found your blog post about this law grossly repulsive and repugnant.
OUT WITH BIGOTRY IN NORTH CAROLINA. OUT WITH NC GOVERNOR PAT MCCRORY. OUT WITH NC HOUSE BILL 2. FOLKS IN NORTH CAROLINA DESERVE BETTER.
Truly,
Amy (Grace)
Well folks, this is not going to be a post about the latest memoir book release. This is about NC House Bill 2 which NC Governor Pat McCrory and our lawmakers pushed through the legislative branches of our government in a single day. It's a ludicrous bill and it discriminates against the LGBT community. It basically says that a transgender person must utilize the restroom of the gender on their birth certificate, not the gender with which they identify. And supposedly, this law is for the safety of children. I don't have children, but I would be more worried about protecting them from pedophiles which most law enforcement profilers describe as generally middle to upper class white males. Folks, this mess of legislation is against the law. It promotes and sanctions discrimination. Last time I checked, that's illegal.
Recently, on my local NC evening news television station I saw one set of people protesting peacefully against the HB2 law in downtown Raleigh and then I saw what appeared to be evangelical, conservative so-called "christians" standing at a podium yelling their endorsement of this HB2 bill. How hypocritical! And worse, I next saw a person who was part of the group endorsing the law walk over and get in the face of the folks peacefully protesting against the law. See who exactly was the aggressor in this situation? Let's apply the christian motto of "What Would Jesus Do?" right here, right now. I don't think Jesus or at least the one I came to know as a Methodist would endorse this law and I know he would not have been trying to pick a fight with a person peacefully protesting against the law in downtown Raleigh, NC.
This HB2 law is going to hit North Carolina in the wallet. Oh yes, businesses are already pulling plans for job growth in North Carolina; musicians are cancelling concerts; conventions that were to take place in North Carolina, mark my words, will be cancelled and rightly so. The backlash is just beginning. I foresee federal funds being taken away from NC secondary and post secondary schools. So you know what I'm going to do in November? I am voting out Governor Pat McCrory and any NC lawmaker who voted to pass this legislation cause the last thing we need more of in this state is more Bigots. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to allow ignorant and intolerant lawmakers cause North Carolina to become known as the "backassward" state. No, not on my watch.
And to the folks of TownDock.net in Oriental, North Carolina who supposedly created this satirical blog piece depicting a woman in a white lab coat wearing blue lab gloves and wearing a "gender compliance officer" sign, let me say this: I didn't find it funny; I didn't find it amusing; I found it insulting. And by the way, the woman in the accompanying blog picture who was posing as the gender compliance officer? Grandma from The Beverly Hillbillies just called and she wants her hairstyle back and I found your blog post about this law grossly repulsive and repugnant.
OUT WITH BIGOTRY IN NORTH CAROLINA. OUT WITH NC GOVERNOR PAT MCCRORY. OUT WITH NC HOUSE BILL 2. FOLKS IN NORTH CAROLINA DESERVE BETTER.
Truly,
Amy (Grace)
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Wrestling With Rising Strong By Brene Brown And Berkley Publishing Issues
Dear Lit Loves,
Recently, a doctor of mine who knew of the grief I had been experiencing over the death of my dad, recommended that I check into books by Dr. Brene Brown, a researcher who works in the Graduate College of Social Work at The University of Houston. The only information I had on her at the time is that I think I had seen her in a copy of O, The Oprah Magazine. I was under the impression that she writes about vulnerability, courage, and how we become better people after processing a failure or loss. I chose to start with her latest book entitled Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution. There is a short note under the title saying, "If we are brave enough, often enough, we will fall. This is a book about what it takes to get back up." After examining the book at Barnes & Noble, I thought I would give it a whirl. She's a Texas southerner. I'm a southern North Carolinian. We probably have something we can learn from each other and maybe a few things in common. I was fine and in agreement that owning our stories and examining them lead us to learn more about ourselves and quite possibly empower us as human beings. All good. And then I readily identified with her after she discusses a roommate she was stuck with at a hotel while speaking at a conference. The roommate, in my opinion, was brash, inconsiderate, and gave the bird to the hotel rules and policies like not smoking on the property. So Dr. Brown goes to visit her counselor still fuming about the incident. And her counselor explains that maybe the roommate was doing the best she can or at least that is what she chooses to believe about most people. Like Dr. Brown, I thought to myself, there is no way on God's green earth that I believe everybody is doing the best they can! Are you freakin' serious?!!
This leads me to put down the book and think about what I believe regarding this statement. I'm still thinking about the statement as I drive to the pharmacy to pick up my medication refills. I back my Mustang out of our garage and look at the apartment recycling center at the end of the road. It's overflowing with recyclable goods, some looney tune has thrown his moving boxes over the sides of the gate surrounding the container because there is no more room to put them inside the recycling receptacle, and two people drive up and just throw their plastic trash bags of recycling all over the pavement beside the recycling bin. Are these people doing the best they can I think to myself. Hell no is what I think. First, the property manager should have recognized a long time ago that the complex required another recycling space and receptacle or he should have the recycling picked up more often. The guy who threw his moving boxes over the fence without breaking any of the boxes down first and just letting them land all over the place and create a junky environment? No, he's not doing his best. I think he's just lazy and probably lives in a cluttered environment. And the two tenants that just threw their plastic bags of recycling over the fence obviously not caring that the bags burst or opened and the contents were sprayed all over the pavement? Were they doing their best? Oh, hell to the no! Honestly, I think they just didn't give a damn and were also guilty of littering. Maybe I should call the police or take down their license plate numbers.
Upon arriving to the pharmacy I encounter a line of people waiting to pick up prescriptions. I take my place as third in line. I notice that a clerk is helping people pick up prescriptions at the drive-thru, but no one appears to be helping any of us standing in line inside the store waiting to pick up our medications. When the clerk finishes assisting the pharmacy drive-thru customers, she returns to a computer and never glances at those of us still standing in line. Finally, the pharmacist asks the clerk who was working the pharmacy drive-thru to assist those of us inside the store waiting to pick up prescriptions. Is she really doing the best she can I begin thinking to myself. No. I think she's ticked off at having to attend to those of us inside the store as she had asked if anyone else was available to help us before taking on the job herself. I then notice she appears especially friendly to the two elder folks in front of me when she helps them. When it's my turn at the register, she is gruff, not at all friendly, and after I hand her my check she begins waxing on and on about how check payments are archaic and no one really uses them to pay for anything anymore. Oh For Christ's Sake! Now I'm just standing there giving her the Darth Vader stare and my nostrils are flaring. I mean, even if you hate your job, is it really necessary to insult the manner in which a customer chooses to pay for their prescriptions?
I return to my apartment complex and have a woman waiting behind me in a Honda and perched on my bumper. We live in a gated apartment community and I have to scan the key card to open the gates in order to enter. Once I do, the driver is riding on my bumper. I come to a speed bump and she actually pulls her car around mine and also drives around the speed bump and then tries to zoom ahead in front of me. But wait! Now I've driven over the speed bump, am blocking her path, and literally sitting in my car giving her my laser stare of death. She doesn't proceed. Good decision. People are truly wacko I think as I'm shaking my head and wondering how in the hell anyone can go around thinking that in general, people are trying to do their best. You know what I think? I think most people are doing what's in their interests at that moment. I think they are deciding what will give them the greatest gain toward what they wish to achieve at any given moment. Now, according to Dr. Brown and her research, the people who answer yes to the idea that people, in general, are just trying to do their best are wholehearted and believe in being vulnerable and value their self-worth. Those of us who don't believe that in general, people are doing their best have issues with perfectionism and are possibly less compassionate and may not set boundaries well. Okay, at this point I was about to grab a broom, wave an imaginary wand over it, hop on the handle and fly around the room. SAY WHAT LADY?! No, No, and No. First, I used to have a problem with perfectionism until I realized no one would ever meet my own standards so why set myself up for disappointment? Quickly abandoned that concept. Point two, does that make me a less compassionate person? No. It makes me selectively compassionate. People can be con artists, abusive, ruthless, greedy, and indifferent. If a person demonstrates this, I'm probably not going to have a lot of compassion for him or her. It's that simple. Point three. Do I have a problem with setting boundaries? Laughing hysterically and almost to the point of hyperventilating and rolling off the chaise lounge in the living room, my husband walks into the room. He asks me what's up. I ask him if he thinks I have problems with setting boundaries. His answer, "Christ no. If anyone has a question on where you stand they either have to be deaf, blind, or incompetent." Thank you. I rest my case. I did finish reading the book, but I kept thinking that you know, Dr. Brown, there are exceptions to the data and research. And I'm probably an exception. It's okay. We'd probably have great dinner conversations and debates, though.
And finally dear literary loves, I noticed that Berkley Books is having problems. First, Berkley was combined with NAL and Leslie Gelbman was removed. Almost a month later, I'm reading that though it hasn't been confirmed, Berkley is now being combined with Putnam and Dutton and possibly four more editors were let go. Hmmmm. I look back over what memoirs were published by Berkley Books last year. There was one that I read about a guy who survives the UCLA paramedic program. I read it because I'm fascinated by medical issues, but the vast book buying public is made up of women and I don't see them having a whole lot of interest in the book. So I try to find what memoirs Berkley Books is getting ready to release in the near future. Well, there's a memoir getting ready to be released about a couple who undergo forty tasks to determine if they are marriage material and if they can't pass the tests then the wedding is off the table. And some of the tasks they endure include swapping credit cards, speed dating (why?), having lunch with their exes, spending twenty-four hours handcuffed together, and trying to imitate famous television/movie sex scenes. Are these people for real? You're kidding me, right? Wait, are these two millennials? That would potentially explain a lot right there. I'm tired of these gimmicky memoirs. I know what it takes to find the right life partner as I've been married eighteen years and when you've been through job loss, interstate moves, skin grafting surgery, caring for elderly parents, losing vision to glaucoma, family quarrels, and the death of your parents then talk to me about how you go about determining if someone is marriage material. Otherwise, I won't bother buying your book because I don't find it interesting, funny, enlightening, or worth my hard-earned dollar, okay? Berkley! Call me! I've got the riveting manuscripts! If not, it's okay. I'll self-publish and go my own way because I know my genre, target market, and I know what sells.
Till my next post,
Grace
(Amy)
Recently, a doctor of mine who knew of the grief I had been experiencing over the death of my dad, recommended that I check into books by Dr. Brene Brown, a researcher who works in the Graduate College of Social Work at The University of Houston. The only information I had on her at the time is that I think I had seen her in a copy of O, The Oprah Magazine. I was under the impression that she writes about vulnerability, courage, and how we become better people after processing a failure or loss. I chose to start with her latest book entitled Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution. There is a short note under the title saying, "If we are brave enough, often enough, we will fall. This is a book about what it takes to get back up." After examining the book at Barnes & Noble, I thought I would give it a whirl. She's a Texas southerner. I'm a southern North Carolinian. We probably have something we can learn from each other and maybe a few things in common. I was fine and in agreement that owning our stories and examining them lead us to learn more about ourselves and quite possibly empower us as human beings. All good. And then I readily identified with her after she discusses a roommate she was stuck with at a hotel while speaking at a conference. The roommate, in my opinion, was brash, inconsiderate, and gave the bird to the hotel rules and policies like not smoking on the property. So Dr. Brown goes to visit her counselor still fuming about the incident. And her counselor explains that maybe the roommate was doing the best she can or at least that is what she chooses to believe about most people. Like Dr. Brown, I thought to myself, there is no way on God's green earth that I believe everybody is doing the best they can! Are you freakin' serious?!!
This leads me to put down the book and think about what I believe regarding this statement. I'm still thinking about the statement as I drive to the pharmacy to pick up my medication refills. I back my Mustang out of our garage and look at the apartment recycling center at the end of the road. It's overflowing with recyclable goods, some looney tune has thrown his moving boxes over the sides of the gate surrounding the container because there is no more room to put them inside the recycling receptacle, and two people drive up and just throw their plastic trash bags of recycling all over the pavement beside the recycling bin. Are these people doing the best they can I think to myself. Hell no is what I think. First, the property manager should have recognized a long time ago that the complex required another recycling space and receptacle or he should have the recycling picked up more often. The guy who threw his moving boxes over the fence without breaking any of the boxes down first and just letting them land all over the place and create a junky environment? No, he's not doing his best. I think he's just lazy and probably lives in a cluttered environment. And the two tenants that just threw their plastic bags of recycling over the fence obviously not caring that the bags burst or opened and the contents were sprayed all over the pavement? Were they doing their best? Oh, hell to the no! Honestly, I think they just didn't give a damn and were also guilty of littering. Maybe I should call the police or take down their license plate numbers.
Upon arriving to the pharmacy I encounter a line of people waiting to pick up prescriptions. I take my place as third in line. I notice that a clerk is helping people pick up prescriptions at the drive-thru, but no one appears to be helping any of us standing in line inside the store waiting to pick up our medications. When the clerk finishes assisting the pharmacy drive-thru customers, she returns to a computer and never glances at those of us still standing in line. Finally, the pharmacist asks the clerk who was working the pharmacy drive-thru to assist those of us inside the store waiting to pick up prescriptions. Is she really doing the best she can I begin thinking to myself. No. I think she's ticked off at having to attend to those of us inside the store as she had asked if anyone else was available to help us before taking on the job herself. I then notice she appears especially friendly to the two elder folks in front of me when she helps them. When it's my turn at the register, she is gruff, not at all friendly, and after I hand her my check she begins waxing on and on about how check payments are archaic and no one really uses them to pay for anything anymore. Oh For Christ's Sake! Now I'm just standing there giving her the Darth Vader stare and my nostrils are flaring. I mean, even if you hate your job, is it really necessary to insult the manner in which a customer chooses to pay for their prescriptions?
I return to my apartment complex and have a woman waiting behind me in a Honda and perched on my bumper. We live in a gated apartment community and I have to scan the key card to open the gates in order to enter. Once I do, the driver is riding on my bumper. I come to a speed bump and she actually pulls her car around mine and also drives around the speed bump and then tries to zoom ahead in front of me. But wait! Now I've driven over the speed bump, am blocking her path, and literally sitting in my car giving her my laser stare of death. She doesn't proceed. Good decision. People are truly wacko I think as I'm shaking my head and wondering how in the hell anyone can go around thinking that in general, people are trying to do their best. You know what I think? I think most people are doing what's in their interests at that moment. I think they are deciding what will give them the greatest gain toward what they wish to achieve at any given moment. Now, according to Dr. Brown and her research, the people who answer yes to the idea that people, in general, are just trying to do their best are wholehearted and believe in being vulnerable and value their self-worth. Those of us who don't believe that in general, people are doing their best have issues with perfectionism and are possibly less compassionate and may not set boundaries well. Okay, at this point I was about to grab a broom, wave an imaginary wand over it, hop on the handle and fly around the room. SAY WHAT LADY?! No, No, and No. First, I used to have a problem with perfectionism until I realized no one would ever meet my own standards so why set myself up for disappointment? Quickly abandoned that concept. Point two, does that make me a less compassionate person? No. It makes me selectively compassionate. People can be con artists, abusive, ruthless, greedy, and indifferent. If a person demonstrates this, I'm probably not going to have a lot of compassion for him or her. It's that simple. Point three. Do I have a problem with setting boundaries? Laughing hysterically and almost to the point of hyperventilating and rolling off the chaise lounge in the living room, my husband walks into the room. He asks me what's up. I ask him if he thinks I have problems with setting boundaries. His answer, "Christ no. If anyone has a question on where you stand they either have to be deaf, blind, or incompetent." Thank you. I rest my case. I did finish reading the book, but I kept thinking that you know, Dr. Brown, there are exceptions to the data and research. And I'm probably an exception. It's okay. We'd probably have great dinner conversations and debates, though.
And finally dear literary loves, I noticed that Berkley Books is having problems. First, Berkley was combined with NAL and Leslie Gelbman was removed. Almost a month later, I'm reading that though it hasn't been confirmed, Berkley is now being combined with Putnam and Dutton and possibly four more editors were let go. Hmmmm. I look back over what memoirs were published by Berkley Books last year. There was one that I read about a guy who survives the UCLA paramedic program. I read it because I'm fascinated by medical issues, but the vast book buying public is made up of women and I don't see them having a whole lot of interest in the book. So I try to find what memoirs Berkley Books is getting ready to release in the near future. Well, there's a memoir getting ready to be released about a couple who undergo forty tasks to determine if they are marriage material and if they can't pass the tests then the wedding is off the table. And some of the tasks they endure include swapping credit cards, speed dating (why?), having lunch with their exes, spending twenty-four hours handcuffed together, and trying to imitate famous television/movie sex scenes. Are these people for real? You're kidding me, right? Wait, are these two millennials? That would potentially explain a lot right there. I'm tired of these gimmicky memoirs. I know what it takes to find the right life partner as I've been married eighteen years and when you've been through job loss, interstate moves, skin grafting surgery, caring for elderly parents, losing vision to glaucoma, family quarrels, and the death of your parents then talk to me about how you go about determining if someone is marriage material. Otherwise, I won't bother buying your book because I don't find it interesting, funny, enlightening, or worth my hard-earned dollar, okay? Berkley! Call me! I've got the riveting manuscripts! If not, it's okay. I'll self-publish and go my own way because I know my genre, target market, and I know what sells.
Till my next post,
Grace
(Amy)
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