Those that know me know that I avoid hard work at all costs. It’s not that I wont work hard – I just prefer to work smart whenever possible and keep my load light.
In honor of that – step on over to Shine, my yoga studio’s blog, and read what I posted there this morning (in lieu of writing 2 separate posts today on two separate blogs). It’s about my becoming so yogafied that when my experiences aren’t “yogic” enough, I get a little restless and how important it is to give ourselves permission to simply finish, i.e., relax, rest and rejuvenate when we exercise.
In the middle of my yoga teacher training course, when I got my multiple sclerosis diagnosis, it went something like this:
No reaction – leave exam room – make follow up appointment.
Fumble with keys get into car, begin to cry.
See that someone in the parking lot is staring at me, wipe away my tears and call my husband.
Driving while talking on a cell phone is a bad idea. Driving while talking on a cell phone to tell your husband that you’re fucked is worse so it did force me to keep it together until I could get home.
Get home, stand in the middle of the kitchen and think: I need to seriously consider going back to work.
Crazy, right? I should have went straight to my yoga mat. I should have been praying, or meditating or freaking myself out by reading up on the most terrifying symptoms on Web MD. But at the time of my diagnosis, health care reform was one of the biggest political topics folks were fighting about. To come to the realization that I officially had a medical bankruptcy bullseye on my back, meant that I needed to guarantee I would ALWAYS have health insurance in the event that something happened to my husband. I have kids and now that I had a progressive condition, I needed to be proactive about protecting everyone’s financial future. In that moment I made a silent promise to myself that no matter what, my disease would not take down my family financially.
Then I started chain smoking and called my best girl friends to give them the news. Eventually I came up with a plan:
Tell the kids but stress that it’s no big deal. I have a disease, I’ll take medicine. Everything will be fine.
So as to not freak them out, tell jokes and don’t cry – act like nothing is wrong.
Actually believe that nothing is wrong and simply get on with my life, focusing on getting back to work,
This major shift in my thinking threw everything into flux. My yoga teacher training took a back seat and instead of focusing on unifying my mind, body and spirit, I focused on all things monetary. Specifically I spent all of my free time earning the continuing education credits I needed to be re-certified in my field of speech-language pathology and licensed by my state.
I still went to my yoga teacher weekends and classes, but honestly, the wind had left my sails. I remember my first yoga class after my diagnosis. Luckily it was a hot one so no one realized that I crying through out most of it. In fact, every time I got on my mat the MS I was trying to ignore was brought to the front and center of my consciousness.
As I teacher I tell my students to “notice the thoughts that you have without judging them”. Simply acknowledge the thought, then gently push it aside and bring your consciousness back to the breath. Unfortunately, when I got quiet it allowed all the thoughts that I was ignoring to bubble up to the surface. I found it was easier to avoid my mat as much as possible.
Eventually I graduated and the only smart thing I did as a newly certified, yoga teacher was to say “yes” every time I was asked to teach a class. I officially started teaching on January 1st, 2010 and eventually got my own Thursday lunch class to helm. Truthfully though, yoga had settled back in my head and wasn’t something I was truly experiencing. It was something that I was planning, sequencing, memorizing and articulating.
Besides, I didn’t have time to give myself the gift of yoga. I had to find a job. One that paid well and had benefits. So like a good teacher, I came to class prepared but as soon as the class ended, I spent all of my free time re-introducing myself to the world of speech therapy: Diagnosis, Treatment, Documentation, Billing, as well as creating test and therapy materials. Although I still took yoga classes and was always preparing for the ones that I taught, yoga yet again took the back seat to my life. If I’m going to be honest, it didn’t even have the back seat. I think it had the wheel-well in the back of a beat up pick up truck if we’re going to stick to the vehicle analogy. I was not only driving fast, but taking curvy back roads with lots of pot holes. I’m surprise yoga didn’t fly out completely and suffer a traumatic head injury. Maybe then I would’ve noticed it – when it came in to see me for speech therapy.
Its been well over a year since I went back to my field. I needed this time to slowly ease back after a 12-year hiatus. But I’m grounded now and it’s time to switch my focus back to my yoga practice. Not just from a teaching perspective, but from a student’s perspective, albeit a sick student’s perspective.
Its officially time to journey back to yoga. If you don’t mind I’d like to share with you what I find along the way.
For thirteen years I’ve been a fan of yoga. Not an addict. Not a stalker. A fan. I’ve enjoy the practice and fit it into my life as was appropriate, meaning, sometimes it’s taken a back seat to other areas that needed my attention. In theory, I wanted to be more committed to my practice, but activities like motherhood, moving, and volunteerism got in the way. Looking back, I believe that was part of the problem. My theoretical yoga practice had a bigger hold on me than my actual one.
Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root word yuj which means “to yoke”, or “unite” and many claim it’s specifically about the union between mind, body and spirit. Because the word may also derive from the root “yujir samadhau,” which means “contemplation”, you can see how for some, yoga is more about the mind and/or spirit and less about the body. Which is fine if you need a distraction from always focusing on the physical and hating yourself, like I’ve done most of my life. But if your default setting is always set to “cerebral” as mine tends to be (because it’s a lot easier to ignore the body that you hate if you spend the majority of your time in your head) it was easier to focus on living my yoga than performing poses on a mat.
I had hoped that yoga would eventually bring balance to the body part of the equation. I think sensing this innate need is what inspired me to sign up for yoga teacher training (YTT), but in the end it was my mind that made the decision because teacher training was also a way to make a living. Since I was already volunteering at the studio and really liked the yogis I met there, it seemed like a smart idea to make money doing something I enjoyed. Regardless I was going to FINALLY give my yoga practice the attention it deserved (while secretly hoping that yoga would give me the physical body I’ve always wanted).
That was the plan, until my head took center stage because besides going to numerous yoga classes, YTT meant reading books about yoga, taking notes from lectures about yoga, conversing about yoga and and thinking various thoughts about yoga. This of course was my favorite part of the training because it kept yoga between my ears where it truly liked to be.
After paying my first deposit and receiving my book list, I got cracking. Instead of going to class I read Power Yoga and Moving Into Stillness. Rather than doing asanas, I memorized their sanskrit names. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali? Something I discussed with my classmates in lieu of actually experiencing them.
Training to be a yoga teacher quenched my thirst for yogic knowledge. It meant understanding anatomy, physiology and contra-indications for poses. I learned facts about properly sequencing a class and was taught the best way to verbalize alignment cues. Because I intellectualized yoga so much, I spent most of my physical practices analyzing the teaching styles of the instructor and stealing ideas to use for future classes. Thus yoga, even when training to be a teacher, continued to be a cerebral endeavor.
But then an interesting thing happened. By the third weekend of training I was hitting the studio every couple of days attending vinyasa flow and even some hot yoga classes. Besides simply doing more yoga, I was also walking daily and eating healthy. Finally and perhaps for the first time in my life I was allowing my consciousness the luxury of settling within my body and staying present in it for more than a few seconds, here and there. Yoga was slowly (and without a lot of fanfare I might add), doing it’s job.
Then, halfway through teacher training as I was FINALLY on my way to unifying my mind, body and spirit, a freak accident occurred. I hit my head. Hard. The dizziness that made practicing more difficult was no where near as problematic as the results from my MRI. It seems that yet again, my head was getting in the way of my performing the asanas. Not my mind per say, but my brain itself. The physical body that I’d become expert at ignoring must have finally had it, so to get my attention, it moved north to officially compete with my mind.
Turns out, I wasn’t just a yogi with a concussion or an inability to yoke her mind to her body.
I was a yogi with 9 brain lesions.
I was a yogi with Multiple Sclerosis.
Yes, that’s correct. A yogi lousy at living in her body got the disease that affects the body with an alarming level of inconsistency. The disease that constantly brings your attention back to your body due to the ever changing plethora of physical symptoms it creates.
Did you hear that?
That was the sound of my personal yoga practice crashing into a brick wall.
I know what you’re thinking. A progressive neurological diagnosis? Or course she turned to her yoga practice to create health and wellness.
Naw. I didn’t have time for that. I had to go get a job.
If yoga and I were in a relationship – the following is what I imagine a recent conversation with yoga would be like.
Yoga: No offense, Linda, but for a while now you’ve sucked at this relationship. Don’t give me the “It’s not you it’s me” line. I’ve been around long enough to know when I’m being played.
Linda: Okay fine. I’ll say it. I’m just not that into you. That’s why I haven’t been around on a regular basis these last 2 years.
Yoga: So you’re afraid of commitment.
Linda: Please. Don’t insult me. I been married to the same man for almost 20 years. Commitments aren’t my problem. I just had other things to do. Like laundry. Kids to cart around. Softball and lacrosse games to attend. A career to relaunch after a 12-year hiatus. Sorry. You weren’t that important to me. Deal with it.
Yoga: I don’t believe that. Did you lose the address? Forget where the studio was located?
Linda: I drive by the studio all the time. You have giant blue and yellow letters that spell out SOL YOGA in the window. I know where to find you. I work there, remember? Face it. I just haven’t been that into you.
Yoga: But I’m perfect for you. I’m kind and patient and wont hurt you like the others have. You’re just scared.
Linda: What are you talking about?
Yoga: Two words. Jane Fonda. Or leg warmers. Take your pick.
Linda: Are you serious? You’re going to bring up the Jane Fonda tapes I hung out with in 80′s? That was waaaaay before I met you! Before I even heard of you! Why do you gotta throw my past in my face? Geeze. For someone that claims to be all about the now that’s a little below the belt, don’t you think?
Yoga: I’m just saying. You get around. Truth be told, you’ve got a reputation. There was step aerobics (low impact AND high impact), countless gym memberships, pilates, and karate. Oh, remember that Joyce Ellis Dance Class you drug your poor mother to? You about killed her that night. And that was back during your teen and early adult years. I haven’t even mentioned the flings you’ve had since giving birth. Mall walking. Rollerblading. Nia.
Linda: So sue me for having an experimental, bi-physical stage.
Yoga: I’ve got no problem with experimentation. I’ve told you many times that I’m all for us having an open relationship. I can handle sharing you with P90X for example, but I need a little attention. I’m not going to be ignored and then expected to be here waiting for you when you get bored with your little conquests. (P.S. I picture yoga saying the above like:)
Linda: What are you saying? That I’m some kind of exercise slut? I just didn’t want to get serious with anyone. That’s it. There’s no law against that.
Yoga: I’m sure that’s it. I’m sure it has nothing to do with a little commitment problem that you have. Hey, what about your triathlon summer when you got all cross trainer on me?
Linda: Yoga, I was very up front with you when I trained for the triathlon. What kind of control freak are you anyway? It was a goal! You’re not big on goals, remember? Did you ever think maybe that’s why I dated Mr. Triathlon that summer?
Yoga: He was a great guy. Until you couldn’t learn how to swim, then he dropped you faster than you can say, wetsuit.
Linda: Thank you for bringing that up. Like you could ujjayi breathe under water. Whatever.
Yoga: And while we’re on the subject don’t insult my intelligence and pretend that you and running had anything in common. At least respect me enough to tell the truth about that.
Linda: You’re right, running did suck. You got me there, yoga. But his older brother, walking? He’s very nice and unlike you doesn’t demand my undivided attention. I can hang out with walking AND talk on the phone. You know multitask and get some other shit done! You couldn’t multitask if someone paid you AND he lets my dog tag along.
Yoga: Are you kidding me? I absolutely love dogs!
Linda: Saying downward dog over and over and inviting my dog to come inside are not the same thing. I still have to find more time in my day to walk him later. Walking realizes this and appreciates my schedule. He respects it. You on the other hand think you’re so fabulous that I should work my schedule around you.
Yoga: You seriously expect me to believe that you can’t find 60 minutes a few times a week to spend time with me? After all I’ve done for you? Come on. What’s the really all about?
Linda: Fine. You want to know why I don’t come around more often? You’re too demanding. I’ve got to come see you at very specific times. I can’t eat before our dates and when we’re together, you’re all, “Breathe. Focus. Don’t judge just experience. Be open. Accept yourself. Like yourself.” It’s annoying. You’re annoying.
The others just want my body. My mind and spirit can do their own thing. But you? You’re so damn needy. You want all three! Do you know how hard it is to get my mind, body and spirit to show up at the same time? Do you even know the amount of coordination that takes?
Yoga: I do it all the time.
Linda: But you’re 5,000 years old! I’m 42. Excuse me for not being as balanced as you are!
Yoga: You’d be more balanced if you came to see me more often - but you already know that. So what is it? What aren’t you telling me? You can trust me.
Linda: I’ve been dealing with some serious shit and frankly, I just wanted to forget for a while. The problem is, I can’t forget when I’m on my mat. You won’t let me.
Yoga: I just ask for your presence. I’m not attached to the outcome. I don’t care what happens once you’re on your mat. I’ll love and accept you no matter what. You just have to try.
Linda: I did try. If you remember I was the first person to sign up for the 21 Day Yoga Challenge back in January? You said, “Do More Yoga and See What Happens”. You made it sound so damn easy.
Yoga: It was easy. I didn’t say, “You’d better master it every pose or else”. I gave you all the space you needed to see what happens and react to it.
Linda: You want to know what happened? I spent 21 days watching my body fall apart right before my eyes? What the hell am I supposed to do with that information? I didn’t get better. I got worse. You didn’t just kick my ass, yoga. You kicked me when I was down. You stirred up all this shit and expected me to what, just sit and meditate on it!? Are you serious? You bring every physical failing that I’ve buried in the back of my mind to the forefront and I’m supposed to simply sit there quietly and contemplate my naval?
It’s not cool, yoga. Not cool at all. So I bolted.
Yoga: You’re being too hard on yourself. You weren’t supposed to master yoga in 21 days.
Linda: I wasn’t trying to master it. You think this is about me not being able to do crow? Or lotus? This is about me not being able to stand on one foot.
Yoga: Bullshit! Don’t lie to my face. I’ve seen you stand on one foot a million times.
Linda: Yea? When’s the last time you’ve seen me stand on my left foot without a using a wall or a block for balance?
Yoga: What are you saying?
Linda: I’m saying there are some things you don’t know about me. My body has definitely changed since we met and honestly, it’s affected my mind and spirit as well. So if you’re serious about getting back together, serious about unifying the three – I’ve got some serious baggage that you’re going to need to sort through first.
Yoga: I can handle it.
Linda: Okay. Then take a comfortable seat. This is going to take awhile.
I mentioned participating in Sol Yoga’s 21 Day Yoga Challenge in previous posts. Hence my lack of blogging here, as I’m supposed to blogging on Shine, Sol Yoga’s blog. I posted there today if you’re interested. I’m warning you – it’s not pretty, but it’s honest. More importantly, others have blogged and over the past week and Shine is becoming an eclectic mix of inspiration, artwork, poetry, and insights.
Happy New Year. So far 2011 is pretty cool (even though the Pittsburgh Penguins lost the Winter Classic to the Washington Capitals yesterday – UGH!). But other than that, life is good. Got to hang with family and eat some delicious food and I must say, I’m ready to head back to Frederick and get 2011 cracking.
One thing that will change is that my duties at my yoga job have expanded such that I’ll be blogging for the studio at their blog, entitled, Shine. Which means I’ll be doing more yoga. Which means, I’ll be getting healthier. Because of that, my blogging may be more along the lines of yoga/health/food these next few months. Since this isn’t a yoga/health/food blog, I will simply link to those posts from this blog and if you feel inclined to head over and read about my yoga adventures, feel free.
My cooking was at it’s healthiest (and my weight at it’s lowest, ironically) when I lived in Hoboken, NJ and attended the Institute For Integrative Nutrition. But looking back I’m realizing that I had 2 friends that were into healthy cooking at the time as well. Anja, my Danish friend, only used fresh, organic ingredients, cooked from scratch and was pretty much appalled by the convenience foods of the American diet. Michelle was less appalled by Americans (she’s Canadian for God’s sake). She just happened to be a fitness, cooking, and health food junkie. She worked out. She cooked tofu. She had a strange obsession with hot peppers. She put zucchini in her chocolate cake recipe. But most importantly, she was the first health nut I had ever met that didn’t necessarily hug trees while wearing a lot of clothes made of hemp.
Fast forward 10 years and I’m feeling strangely drawn to healthy cooking again. After returning to work and allowing my wifely and motherly cooking duties to seriously slide, I’m pulling out old recipes, making longer grocery lists and revisiting my healthier ways. Hmm…I can’t help but wonder if it’s because I’ve recently reconnected with Michelle who’s now living in Australia. Besides emailing one another, I’ve been reading her cooking blog and it’s as if we’re hanging out again – she just happens to be living on the other side of the planet instead of in the apartment building next door.
So was it the school or Michelle that got my ass in shape back then? Who knows? What I do know is that she’s wonderfully adept at updating recipes and making them as healthy as possible. Since healthy eating will be on everyone’s mind in about 10 days, check out her blog for lots of great recipe ideas and wonderful food photos. But before before heading over to her corner of the blogosphere, I thought you all might like to get to know my friend Michelle a little better.
LBP: When did you start your blog?
MP: I started my blog a little over a year ago after my husband finally convinced me that this would be a fun way to make my own personalized cookbook. I was worried about starting one because I am in no way a writer but over the year I’ve really come to enjoy just focusing on food and adding a bit of quirky family stories every once in a while.
Are the recipes from other cookbooks or ones you’ve adapted yourself?
To be honest, I was once a huge cookbook collector and would read them like one would a novel but since we began to travel more and more I donated most of them and my favorites are now sitting in a storage warehouse in Quebec. I try to create my own recipes but many are certainly adapted from memories of cooking shows and books that I’ve read. I will often just “healthify” every day recipes but if I use an original I do always give credit where credit is due. It’s also fun to give a shout out to other bloggers when you try out their ideas. It’s a respect thing.
Do you have a favorite cookbook you return to often?
I love Janet and Greta Podleski. Eat Shrink and Be Merry along with Crazy Plates are probably my favorite cookbooks. They’re fun to read and the recipes are simple every day meals made a little healthier which is basically what I try to do. I don’t like to make dishes that are too complicated. Instead I try to encourage people to stay away from foods you didn’t make yourself. Frozen, prepared meals, take out and restaurant food are the biggest problems today as far as I’m concerned.
Do you really lay in bed thinking about food / cooking?
You have no idea! Just the other night I had to finally get up and watch television so that I could stop dreaming about dates. I was doing a blog on a new date butter recipe and it was all I could think about. I try to get a blog out at least 6 days a week so I am constantly thinking about new food ideas. Thank God thinking about food is calorie free or I’d be in trouble!
Would you rather cook or bake?
Bake hands down. I get a weird pleasure out of watching a cake rise, especially one that is full of healthier substitutions. Baking bread to me is like an art and I am still surprised each time it works! I have two teenage girls. Baking is therapeutic
Would you rather cook or work out?
That’s an easy one! I cook because I love it. I work out because I have to. Like probably 90% of people, I don’t really enjoy spending an hour in a stinky gym with grunting monkeys trying to suck in my stomach but I do enjoy the mood enhancing effects exercising has on me. Leaving the gym and feeling fit is a definite high.
Since you’re into fitness… To lose weight do you think it’s a 50/50 split between food and nutrition? Or is the stuff you eat more important than the calories you burn?
Food is 80-90% for the average person. I have seen and trained women who bust their butts in the gym every day (far more than me) and never lose a pound or change their body shape. The simple reason is that they consume more calories than they work off and often those calories come from low nutrient dense foods as well as alcohol. People will often maintain their weight and fitness levels for years and train like an athlete simply because they refuse to change their diets. I think that’s a huge waste of time in a gym. I would rather eat a healthy diet and exercise as little as possible.
I ask because I know a lot of people that lose weight without exercising, just by dramatically changing their diet. But I’ve yet to meet a WOMAN that loses weight from dramatically changing her exercise. Men on the other hand seem to be able to do either and lose weight.
Yes, sadly it is true that men can drop their doughnut a day habit and lose 10 lbs in the first week while we lucky ladies hold on to our muffin tops for dear life! But here’s the thing, although it is clearly easier for men to drop weight quicker, it is just as hard for them to maintain that loss if they don’t eventually change their diets and add exercise. As we get older the combination of the two become more and more important since our calorie needs get lower and lower. I see women lower their calories each year to maintain their weight until they are consuming 900-1200 calories a day. These low numbers mean that they are missing out on important nutrients in their diets, bone saving exercise and the simple pleasure of eating. Food and exercise go hand in hand for both men and women even if one plays a bigger role.
Tell me about the nutrition counseling you offer.
I offer 1:1 daily monitoring through an online food journal. I watch what you eat each day because you record everything on this website. In doing that you are able to see exactly what you consume and I then recommend changes and let you know where you should actually be with the macro numbers (fat, carbs, protein, etc.) I also send nutrition information for you to read regularly and use my blog to direct you to recipes
This is something that only works for people really willing to take the time to search a data base and log every single thing they eat and drink every day for at least the month. It’s a bit time consuming at the beginning but I know for a fact that seeing and being honest with a food journal is very eye opening for people. I have a client right now down 85lbs in 6 months. He’s under 300lbs for the first time since he was in his 20s and he is now 51. I sound like an infomercial I just really believe in the journaling process.
Thanks Michelle! I’ve eaten Michelle’s food and made many of her recipes – they are always tasty and easy to make. If you want to overhaul your diet or would like to work with Michelle, check out her blog, See Michelle Cook. Happy Eating!
It’s tough to navigate the health care system when you’re elderly. Because privacy trumps the exchange of information and the fact that society lives longer, by the time you’re 85, you’ve seen a plethora of health care providers that don’t communicate with or even know about one another. To live longer and prosper at that age, you’ll need to see a whole bunch more that don’t or can’t communicate with one another. And your future 85-year-old self, will be in charge of managing all of this information.
As an outpatient speech therapist, I tend to only add to the confusion as I have to give my elderly patients more information to process. Often times my spiel goes something like this:
“Your wife needs a swallowing test over at the hospital called a Modified Barium Swallow. But you’ll first have to get a prescription from your doctor for this test (hand him the handy prescription with all of the information that he can give to his wife’s doctor to sign) and then call over to radiology (give him a handout that gives all of these steps in a written form, while pointing to the phone number of radiology that I’ve highlighted in yellow) to make the appointment because we don’t do those tests here. And in the meantime, you’ll need to thicken your wife’s liquids to a nectar consistency (explain how a nectar differs from a thin liquid) with a thickener that you can buy from your local pharmacist (hand him a few papers with information about thickener brands, recipes, how to thicken liquids, the difference between a mechanical soft and regular solid diet). Once your wife has the test done, if the inpatient speech therapist at the hospital feels that she would benefit from swallowing therapy, you can come back here for that. Or course, you’ll need another prescription for swallowing therapy at that time. Do you have any questions?”
At which point the gentleman, being a gentleman will smile, take all the information, maybe ask a few questions and then go home and make his wife some hot tea without thickening it.
Being an outpatient therapist I’ll never know what happens to them after they leave. If on the off chance they do get the tests completed and come back, I pray they had it done at the Frederick Memorial Hospital (FMH) as I’m only privy to medical information within that system. In a few minutes I can look up the patient and read the MBS results online. Otherwise, they’ll need to bring the test results with them. Of course, I’m happy to call and get the records faxed – that is if they can remember the name of the facility and/or the professionals they spoke with and hopefully they signed a release of information form before they left. Keeping in mind that I’m talking about the elderly, not all of my patients have this information stored in their memory banks.
Please understand that I’m not mocking the elderly. I’m 42 and honestly can’t tell you the name of my gynecologist. I know the name of the practice and that I go to the Frederick office, but I’d have to look him up online and read through the names to tell you his for sure. His initial’s are LB and he has a cool, Polish sounding name, something ending in ski or sky. He’s got a mustache, he’s super personable and engaged to be married, if that helps.
Now imagine me at 85.
Exactly.
So that’s problem number one. Problem number two is the lack of power balance in the the elderly couples I meet. I find that one is greatly responsible for the other either out of necessity (a husband taking care of his wife with advanced dementia) or habit (a wife that’s always been “in charge” is now the gate keeper of her husband’s medical information as well) or an age differential (a middle aged woman married to an elderly gentleman).
What concerns me is that these couples are at risk of becoming like the businessmen in an old but very funny Computer Associates commercial:
I have a few elderly Dan’s that are the only ones in the family that know the specifics of their wife’s diet. The kids are busy with high pressure jobs and their own kids and they don’t fully understand Mom’s risk of getting pneumonia due to her silent aspiration problem. My fear is that before Dan can educate his grown children, he gets impaled by a falling icicle on the way to Christmas dinner and mom is left alone at the table with a full glass of eggnog.
If Dan goes down, how will the remaining spouse that’s ill, manage? Maybe Dan’s lucky and has some adult children to lean on, but what if they live across the country? Or they’re idiots? Or they’re simply too busy to help out because they are sandwiched between both parents and children that need their assistance?
There’s got to be a better way to coordinate all of this information. I’ve noticed that some health systems as well as private business offer medical concierge services. Cleveland Clinic will help you coordinate your care and arrangements if you’re visiting them from out of town. Apparently, the locals are on their own. If you have some extra cash, Potomac Concierge here outside of DC besides providing personal assistant services, will help clients navigate the health care system, making appointments, and even assisting with medical claims and insurance forms. And of course, insurers are offering these services, but its more about helping you understand your benefits and less about the exchange of information between professionals.
As our population gets older and lives longer I’m guessing medical concierge services will be popping up more and more. I imagine it wont be long before someone creates a web portal where patients can upload information and health care providers, with permission, can download whatever information they need. It’ll be like Google Docs for real doctors and not documents.
But until then, you might want to step in and do yourself and your parents a huge favor and get involved. This Christmas, the best gift you can give the elderly family members in your life is to be their health care back up. Their Bright Storage Software if you will. Set up a time, sit down and write down the names, phone numbers, fax numbers and addresses of their health care providers. Have them sign whatever HIPAA papers necessary to give you access to their medical information. Find out the specialists they’re scheduled to see, the follow up appointment they need to make, and the aftercare recommendation they need to follow. Know what pharmacist they use. Find out which medications they take. Be invested in their health and wellness and get involved by getting informed.
This same advice goes for adult siblings of one remaining elderly parent. Just because your Mom or Dad can still live alone and manage day-to-day activities, doesn’t mean that they can manage all of this fluctuating information. Or that what they manage for themselves independently today, wont drastically change in 6 months. All it takes it one undetected UTI to allow significant confusion to set in and you’ll be wishing that you had gotten this information while your parent was alert and oriented.
I realize that you’re busy – but you need to realize that it’s a lot less work to be proactive with grandma while she’s cognizant and able to tell you everything you need to know to manage her care. And once you know, don’t be like Dan. Tell someone else in the family. You never know when a metaphorical file cabinet is going to come out of nowhere. Be ready for it by filling your own personal file cabinet with the information you need to be an advocate if need be.
When you have a 12-year-old and watch this video, it really pulls at your heart and hits you in the gut - especially the parts where she’s running from the creepy hands that are chasing her.
I just really believe in the journaling process.
