12 Steps Toward A Medical Miracle

[Guest guest]

Rad this is my COPD support group messages.. Thought it would be good

for us here as well... Cheers Jolene

12 STEPS TOWARD A MEDICAL " MIRACLE "

If you or someone you love is diagnosed with a life-threatening

illness,

here are the positive steps you can take to insure the best outcome

possible. They don't add up to a guarantee, of course. There are no

guarantees in medicine. But that's actually good news for people with

a

serious illness: Maybe you can't be absolutely certain that the best

will happen, but you also can't be certain -- no matter what your

doctor

says --that the worst will happen.

1 Take Control of Your Illness. You may think you're helpless, but

you're not. Take control of your life back with a combination of

information and attitude. Be a

part of every decision about your treatment. Resist the urge to leave

it

all in your doctor's hands.

2 Insist on Options. Forget about second opinions. Look instead for

second options. There are no absolutes in medicine, no

inevitabilities.

There are multiple

solutions to every problem. You just have to find them. Don't be

afraid

of

choices; embrace them.

3 Find the Right Doctor. Not all doctors are created equal. When

you're

seriously ill, it's worth the extra effort to find the best one for

your

condition. It can make

the difference, literally, between life and death.

4 Build A Partnership With Your Doctor. A true partnership means there

are special responsibilities on both sides. Your part is to be

informed

about your

illness so you can ask questions -- you can never ask too many

questions.

Your doctor's part

is to answer them all, fully and patiently.

5 Recognize That All Medical Decisions Are Trade-offs. Again, there

are

no right answers. Every decision regarding medical treatments

involves

weighing costs

against benefits. To strike the right balance for you (everybody's

balance

is different) get all

the information you can, then look carefully inside yourself and

decide

what really matters.

6 Sustain A Claim to Life. A good attitude -- call it optimism or

" fighting spirit " or whatever isn't enough, no matter how positive.

You

have to

do something. A will to live has to be accompanied by a commitment to

living: join a support

group, make plans,set goals; " renew your membership in life. "

7 Find An Advocate (Or Be Your Own). In a managed care environment,

getting the best care can be a struggle. You can end up fighting your

doctor as well as your

illness. If you haven't got enough fight to go around, enlist an

advocate

to do the fighting for you.

8 Subdue The Enemy Within. Sooner or later, you'll hear a voice

question: " Why Me? " Learn to recognize self-pity and resist it.

Questions

whatever bothers you; don't let this one. Not now.

Another feeling to resist: guilt. Yes, loved ones are going through

hell, but it's not your fault.

9 Build A Support Network. You absolutely cannot get through this

alone. You have to depend on people. Family, friends, caregivers,

support groups, strangers, it doesn't matter, as long as

it's somebody. But don't expect more of people than is reasonable.

Don't expect family or friends to change just because you're sick.

Don't

expect yourself to

change.

10 Don't Let The Disease -- Or The Treatment -- Change Who You Are.

Don't let the " I'm Still Here! " syndrome get the better of you.

Denial

and

surrender are

bad, but survival at any cost is also dangerous, just in a different

way.

If the disease, or the

treatment, changes who you are, then you've lost the battle anyway.

11 Know When To Draw The Line. There's a line beyond which the price

of

survival is just too high, a line between what is worth fighting for,

and

what is not.

Thresholds of pain vary, as well as thresholds of fear and

uncertainty.

Doctors often draw this line for patients; draw it for yourself.

12 Never Say Never. Everybody reacts to disease differently. Every

body

reacts to drugs and treatment differently. Every doctor has had

patients

who defied all the

medical textbooks and prognoses. They've all seen " hopeless " cases

turn

around. For all the

advancements in medical knowledge, the human body remains wondrous

strange-- and full of

surprises.