Tales from the hospital….

Last weekend was spent in hospital.

The Future Mrs JD (known henceforth as FMJD) caught a bout salmonella on our trip home which only became symptomatic once we were back in Australia.

After a quick trip to the doctors they sent us to A&E where FMJD stayed for three days while they confirmed what the problem was and got the right medication.

People who work in healthcare are a different breed…I’m always in awe of the knowledge and compassion shown by doctors and nurses but they are only human.

Unfortunately there was a bit of a mix up while FMJD was in hospital…due to the nature of the illness the specialist Doc recommended that she avoid lactose for at least a month otherwise things would get worse.

60 minutes after he banned lactose, someone comes into the room with a plate full of food which included milk, creme brûlée and yoghurt…a ‘Who’s Who’ in the world of lactose.  Turns out the Doc hadn’t added the lactose bit to his notes so the nurse was pretty insistent that FMJD should scoff this down immediately.

At this point it would have been quite easy to follow the nurses instructions and dig in, and whilst this wouldn’t have killed FMJD it would have probably meant another couple of days in hospital.

Luckily, FMJD had the knowledge to recognise that everything that had been brought to her was packed with lactose and was completely contradictory to what the doctor had said beforehand.

A small miscommunication between Dr and nurses could have made things a lot worse but FMJD caught the error and avoided further complications.

There’s a lesson here…only YOU can take full responsibility for your health and wellbeing.

Of course the Dr only wanted to help, but he’s only human and for whatever reason neglected to add that vital information to the notes.  Had FMJD not been vigilant things would have got worse quite quickly.

So, if you’re ever unlucky enough to be in hospital, or even if you’re just seeing a doctor, remember to take notes, don’t be shy to get things explained to you so you understand what’s being said, and don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion.

Ultimately your health is YOUR responsibility.

This applies outside of the healthcare environment as well…

Does a diet sound too good to be true?  Do 10 minutes of research on it or ask for advice from someone you trust.  YOU are responsible for what you put in your mouth today.

Are you unsatisfied with how you look or how you feel?  Only you can get out there and make a change…YOU are responsible for what you do today.

Take charge, take responsibility ??