Dear reader,
For several weeks now I've had this discomfort in the pit of my
stomach. Oh, yes I tried extra bran,a little colace before sleep and I
increased the amount of water I drank in hope that what ever might be
lurking just might be flushed away. But the discomfort persisted and then
it came to me what it was all about. It was guilt, pure guilt and I have
DAVID BOOTS to thank for the relief I felt when the truth was revealed to
me.
DAVID Boots didn't really exist to me until I read his
parody,"Guaranteed Offensive" and it was, but that's ok. He has every right
to speak as he chooses. And then there was his piece "snippet of letter to
sister....."which I found to be bitter and angry and sad and very
touching.So I sat myself down and composed a brief note to DAVID telling
him of a few of my holiday meal adventures; like in my family we never said
pass the gravy. Instead, since most of us had a familial tremor, we would
say "would you please slide the gravy". We were kind of an uptight family
but our gravy routine always got a laugh. [Did your family table have gravy
lanes?]
Well, I never sent the note to David because I feared he would take my
little story as an effort to humor him out of his bitterness ......which
wasn't true you know....... just sharing a moment.
And the very next day DAVID goes for the jugular with Central California"s
Martha M. He really want us to "take a break", as in shut up! He would
"love to see if any Neurologists are lurking or 'people trying holistic
approaches' ". It's a minor point, DAVID, but humor is considered to be
part of a holistic approach. The main point is that you believe that some
Lurking Neurologist is going to drop in and save our butts and we must
keep the lines open! You seem to belive that medicine will have the
answer;that all you have to do is to be there when the answer arrives. I
surely wish that were true.
WEll, I have my view of the medical/me as patient relationship and it
has involved some basic changes that I needed to get through. First, and
most importantly my relationship with the medical establishment is one of a
partnership based on mutual respect/trust/knowledge/humor and an ability to
compromise our positions regarding a variety of issues. The doctor is no
god, no knower of all truths,
no magician but hopefully s/he has a real good ability to hear, to be
compassionate and to keep up in his field. My role is pretty much the same.
I'm not the kind of patient who will let any professional blow smoke at
me.There are times when I'm clearly overwhelmed and need some wisdom but I
don't turn in my dignity at the door; my integrity is perhaps a bit
tattered but still functioning.
There it is.. my guilt! Not only do I believe that I have a
partnership with my medical health care system but I"m taking up space!
I think I can sum up what i'm talking about by taking as an example
one of the many tales I found in this Digest.Tuesday,26 Nov a person by the
name of Gavios writes about her search for information regarding
Pallidotomies. S/he notes that "My mom's Neurologist does not seem to
encourage this operation. Yet surprisingly he does not seem to know much
about it either. Should we depend on his advice? Why would you take the
advice of someone who has gaps in his knowledge? Get a 2nd opinion!! Run!
And lastly any member of the helping profession is welcomed at my table
but they need to realize that there is no chair of honor unless one is able
to wiew all chairs as being chairs of honor.
Thanks David for provoking me enough to see this small truth. Did you
get my drift Pat Reilly?
my very best
george
AGANE
[log in to unmask]
