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Wednesday, December 2, 2015

When the Bad News Keeps Coming

I have had a series of unfortunate events over the past couple of months.  The worst news of all started it off, but the news that continues to trickle in has been mixed, some of it good, and some of it really not so great.  The trick is to stay positive no matter what is going on, and to figure out how to deal with the latest setback.  I think that with serious illnesses, there are bound to be setbacks, or at least things that the patient sees as a setback (the health care team, which has far more experience with the illness, may see them as par for the course, but the patient only does it once, so the view from that side might seem quite devastating). 
I now have an increased vigilance about what is going on with myself, a lower expectation for a complete return to my baseline until the acute part of my treatment is completed, a much lower threshold for sharing my concerns with my healthcare team (keeping them to myself has gotten me into way worse trouble than sharing them has), and to be as compliant as a patient as I can be.  If my team thinks I need something, I may ask a question or two about it, but I am trying to let their urgency be mine, because they have pulled me out of the fire a time or two already, so I realize I may not be the best judge of exactly what I need.  Ceding that kind of control is never easy, but I am working on it.

3 comments:

  1. Your writing is very brave and honest. Thank you.

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  2. Being out of control is definitely a tough part of this process. So admire the way you're coping and thinking through the events that must be so all-consuming. Thinking of you and thanks for sharing!

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