“What’s the oldest you’ve ever been?” A fair question, although it may be obvious chronologically. Personally, I can’t attest to having lived or acted my physical age. Many would agree. Mentally, I don’t feel it. My friend and speaker colleague Bob mentioned a funny ageism recently. Bob and his family were enjoying a meal together […]
“Did I read that right?” I re-read the online invitation I received. It wasn’t an invitation anyone hopes to get. There was no ‘shhh’ finger-to-lips graphic, no indication of umbrella drinks, not even a hint of fun food. There was, however, a beautiful photo of a radiant young woman with three young boys. It seems […]
Kick off your shoes and stay awhile. It sometimes feels like there are few places where people with visible conditions are welcome – and accepted as they are. Medical settings are often the most welcoming and comfortable places known to those of us with visible conditions. The larger, outside world has way too many issues […]
When attending a patient’s funeral, they blended in among the other mourners. Nothing made them stand out, as they would in their normal work environment. But this was not that. The graveside service was simple yet honorable. Snippets of conversation floating on the breeze caught my ear. It was those snippets that amazed me. I […]
“I can’t do this anymore.” “What? You have to keep going. You can’t quit. You’re needed. You’re fantastic at what you do.” “No, it’s too hard. I’m exhausted. There’s too much to do and never enough time. I’m fighting on every front and I have no more fight left. I’m tired of being responsible, tired […]
Calm amidst chaos? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Calm amidst chaos. When I heard that phrase today, it stuck in the little cobwebby corners of my grey matter. Since then, it’s been rolling around, breaking through some of those sticky strands. Given that I’m writing this article today, the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I can’t envision […]
“I can’t do this anymore.” “What?? You have to keep going. You can’t quit. You’re needed. You’re fantastic at what you do.” “No, it’s too hard. I’m exhausted. There’s too much to do and never enough time. I’m fighting on every front and I have no more fight left. I’m tired of being responsible, tired […]
“Maybe I’m an exception to the ‘rolling stone gathers no moss’ adage.” I’m feeling pretty darn moss-covered myself some days, especially when work and life seem to be rolling downhill. It’s overwhelming at times. It happens far more often than I’d like. Needless to say, I’m a mite suspicious of the proverb about a rolling […]
“You’re such a non-compliant patient.” Words I heard again at yet another medical appointment. I really should be fired sometimes. The words were said with affection, from a nurse who has become a friend. Nonetheless, though, she’s right. I am non-compliant. I comply when it suits me, and so often it doesn’t. I recently saw […]
“Just add it to the bottomless list.” Ever felt that way? As though the world and all its demands expects you to keep going until you’ve finished everything on your plate, so to speak. Including the Brussels sprouts. It’s an image that reminds me of long-ago decades growing up in Fargo, North Dakota. The dinnertime […]
“Perseverance is a long word followed by a short attention span.” While I wrote that quote for a recent weekly business column, it applies universally, especially so for patients. If you’ve been in nursing for awhile, maybe you’ve observed what I’ve experienced firsthand – a decrease in the time patients, myself included, are willing to be […]
“A what scan?” A scanner connoisseur, I added a new scan to my appointment this week. The oral surgeon’s office has a newfangled scanner called a CBCT: Cone Beam Computed Tomography. I’ve had MRIs, CTs, tomography (um, regular??) and now CBCT. It rocks. The CBCT scanner is quick, easy and tunnel-free. It provides standing room […]
“Tick tick tick.” I take it for granted. My ticker, that is. It’s one part of me that, as far as I know, still works as it was designed. Four decades of arthritis has not affected my heart. I’m fortunate. At age seven, four decades ago, attempts were made to figure out what the heck […]
“What are you – a comedian?” Nope, these professionals aren’t – aren’t comedians, that is. They operate on a different spectrum. They sometimes share similarities with comedians, but their humor is often more subtle, more cerebral. Who are they? They’re humorists. There’s even one month a year dedicated to them. March is always ‘Humorists are […]
“A gadget guru’s paradise. Really?” A medical office? As soon as I was called back into the inner sanctum for my appointment, I knew something was different. This was merely the warm up act. I walked over to the scale. While not exactly a gadget, it was creatively updated. Ready to step up and onto […]
“Well, hello there, stranger.” You’d think that after living with the same body for four decades, there wouldn’t be any surprises left. That is, other than the usual age-related changes. I’m getting all too used to them. You, too? My sympathies. Much in the same way, I’ve gotten all too used to the weirdities accompanying […]
“Please pass the attitude.” We routinely recognize the genes that pass from one generation to the next. After all, we see evidence of hand-me-down genes looking back at us each morning in the mirror. (“When did I become my mother??”) While we recognize genes that are passed along, what we don’t often recognize are the […]
“Who, me?” Patient? I ain’t no stinkin’ patient. Denial is a wonderful thing. After being a patient with a chronic illness for more than three decades, I became a wee bit tired of playing the role. No offense to anyone in the medical community, but it was a too-close connection that I didn’t want anything […]
“How do you do it?” How does anyone keep going through insurmountable difficulties? We’re talking the really big stuff. The stuff that can’t be fixed with chocolate (gasp) or a pitcher of margaritas or a box of tissues and a friend’s slobbered-on shoulder. We’re talking the ‘I don’t think I could ever get through it […]
“What a wimp.” It must be bad when you recognize it in yourself. Why is it the older I get, the wimpier I am when it comes to – of all things – needles? Sitting in the lab technician’s chair recently, I found I was distracting myself from her preparations. The rubbery tourniquet thingy, the […]
