Kept Safe
Friday, March 1, 2013 at 9:19AM I don’t know about you but I always seem to forget stuff I want to talk to my doctor about when I am driving home from an appointment with him. Days before I see him I think about all I want to talk about and when I get there I undoubtedly forget something.
This time I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything so I started a note on my iPhone and kept adding things I wanted to make sure we discussed.
Sidebar: I use notes also to keep a list of all my prescriptions. I keep dates when I started taking them and even prescription numbers for refills. It’s easy to hand over your phone when a nurse asks what prescriptions you take. “Here, I take all of this.” Okay, back to the blog.
While I was sitting in the exam room waiting for him to come in I sent a text to my wife asking if by chance she thought of anything I should ask him about. She replied back with all the stuff I already had on my list so we were solid.
“Hey George, how are you doing? Where’s Jasmine?” I LOVE the fact that my doctor ALWAYS asks about my wife. He knows her name. Heck I used to see doctors who would introduce themselves to me every time I came in.
“She’s at work but I was just texting her.”
“Let me write something to her!” I handed him my phone and he thought for a second and said, “Let’s take a picture and send it to her.”
Seriously? I thought it was great and so did Jasmine.
I spent lots of years hating going to the doctors. Every visit meant I would be told what an awful patient I was. I never checked my bg, got lab work done, or even thought about my health.
After years of searching I found someone who doesn’t ridicule me. Who tells me like it is without leaving me to blame. He warns me of the dangers of poor management but explains how difficult management is and that together, with him, we will work on things.
My doctor is my coach, in my corner, and he takes the blame for a lot of the bad plays I make. We talk about what I can do to help and what he has to do to orchestrate it all. From making sure the specialists I am seeing like cardiologists, podiatrists, and others are getting him information about what they find so he can keep track of it all and keep me safe.
He told me once, “My job is to keep you safe,” and he has. And it’s done with respect, kindness, and general honest concern for my well-being.
Never do I feel bad or guilty when I leave his office. It’s why I drive out of my way to see him.
Empathy, support, and encouragement are what motivate me to take care of myself and with my doctor I get all three in abundance.
Reader Comments (5)
Wow, what a great testimonial! Glad to see you found a good one, this doc's a keeper!
Love this. Glad you have a great doc. Hope he never retires.
Quite encouraging... true feeling spoken....
I'm trying out a new endoc this month. He was recommended by a friend I respect and trust. Your post gives me hope for more in this new relationship. Thank you, and so glad that you have a doc that truly cares.
Can we clone him? What a nice guy/doctor!