I am at the doctor's office. He tells me I have a tumor in my breast that needs to be removed.
I say to him, "First of all, it isn't cancer. If it turns out to be cancer, I will make sure to tell everyone and have my family tell everyone how quick you were to offer an invasive surgery and yet you have nothing to offer to help me with this chronic illness!"
End of dream.
Last Sunday, we went to after hours care so that I could get an x-ray to make sure there were no fractures as a result of the fall that has put me in such pain. We went on Sunday so that Ralph could come along and lift me on to the x-ray table. Oddly enough, hospitals and doctors offices don't have anyone available to help me transfer from one surface to another. The x-ray came back clean. The physician suggested I follow up with my regular doctor in a week if I'm still in pain.
I got a massage yesterday, buying me a couple of hours of pain-free living. I have another scheduled for tomorrow. Also scheduled for tomorrow is a call to a local agency that helps people arrange care for their aging or disabled family members. This call is the first of what will probably be several as I try to get some help for myself and my "primary caregiver."
My dream tells me that at some future time I need to expand from self advocacy (at which I am a complete beginner) to advocacy for systemic change.
AARP has a fantastic viral video that teaches about the source of change. Enter your name into the widget below and enjoy.
| AARP 08 Video |
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