Do you find that your conversations with friends are dominated by medical complaints, queries, and experiences? The older I get, the more frequent the medical topics arise. Even when someone in the group points out that our maladies are monopolizing the conversation, and we switch to our latest book club pick or Netflix binge, the talk seems to drift back to healthcare. The latest bestseller is hands down more interesting than the latest suggestion to help constipation, kidney stones, neuropathy, fatigue...the list could go on forever. I venture to guess that if our health issues were easily solved, there wouldn't be a reason for so much discussion. But as so many of us know, many illnesses have no clear resolution. Our doctors recommend different treatments hoping that something will help. They want to help, but even some admit, it really is "practicing" medicine in the truest sense of the word. I liken it to throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.
My hackles are raised, my feathers are ruffled, my … I’m not sure I can find the words for how I am feeling. This morning, I read a recently published article called “ Delivering the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease-setting the stage with hope and compassion.” I am not upset that the article was written. I am glad that the authors have brought this to the attention of others. I am upset that it needed to be written. I just think it is common sense that when someone is given a life-changing diagnosis, it should be given with hope and compassion. The authors note that some say the moment of diagnosis is “almost akin to a traumatic event such as the loss of a loved one.” Of course it is! The person receiving the diagnosis is losing their future self. Everything they thought their life would be from that moment on has now drastically changed! I would count that as traumatic. I was one of these people over seven years ago who walked out of the Movement Disord