I had a wonderful weekend celebrating father's day with two terrific guys. My dad and my husband are two terrific dads. They both are good examples of what a great dad is. I have been blessed to have them both in my life. Thank you Dad for being a loving example of forgiving others and looking at the bright side of life. Thank you for all the smiles and fun times and always being there to support and help me. Thank you my husband for always being there for our children and working hard at being a survivor for them. They are great children who are a reflection of your love and devotion to them both. Happy Father's Day !!!
Forgiveness really does set you free and allows you to let go of painful things that hurt you. My last blog post on not letting others define you has gone to rest quietly in cyber space. I wrote it to let go of holding onto to something that was very painful for such a long time. I posted it for the world and then I let it go. I have felt so free after letting go of it. The best thing to do is to let someone know that they have hurt you instead of letting it grow inside you and consume you.
I am proud to say that I have accomplished a lot in my life time. I am very proud of being a member of the National Honor Society. That was a great honor for me. My academic accomplishments also meant a lot to me. I remember how proud my dad was when he saw me graduate with my honor cord. I was one of the first in the family to graduate from college with a Bachelor of Science Degree and then become an RN. I thank my dad for financially making that happen for me. I am also proud of being a teacher and all the wonderful students I met over the years. I am proud of who I am and I have changed my life so much by letting go of the the negative people that hurt me. I no longer feel worthless. My life is filled with friends and people that love me. I am no longer dependent on others for my self worth. I have proven to myself that I am the one that makes my happiness. The more I have let go of the past the stronger I have become.
If people were as loving and loyal as dogs and showed no prejudice towards one another, we would have a wonderful world. I thank Laney everyday for that unconditional love and being beside me and giving me a purpose to live. She gave me strength to find myself again. I am sending love to her in heaven.
Life is beautiful !!
Elizabeth:)
Laney passed away in Febuary of 2017. This blog and her legacy live on. She gave me courage to talk about how the medical field affected our family. She gave me a purpose to write. Forever she will be in my heart.
Monday, June 19, 2017
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Dealing With Disgruntled Health Care Workers
I just read my last blog post and I must say that the pain of cancer was definitely on my mind that day. Those painful memories surface every now and then. They are a reminder of where we were and how far we have come today. My husband and I are both survivors. Cancer does not discriminate against any person or caregiver. It can happen to the wealthiest, the poorest, any race, or religion. I think every family has someone who has been affected. We must not let cancer stop us from what we are meant to do. Life is beautiful and we must continue with what ever our purpose is suppose to be. A survivor plans to waste no time living and seeing the beauty of life.
When I have read about the survivorship plan for all cancer patients and some other articles about what a cancer survivor is, I realized that my husband and I created our own plan. It started with a trip six years ago across the country to get a second opinion. Then we accepted the plan for treatment and we knew exactly what we expected from others. There were days when we were not happy with the attitude of people who were caring for my husband. I must remind us both that we are not responsible for their actions, however we are responsible for how we react to them. We had to say that we did not want some of them on our team to beat cancer. We literally had to voice our desires several times over a three year span. These people were what we called disgruntled workers and they had no problem letting us know. We have since found out that we were at a cancer center during a time of many changes with new leadership and spending cuts. We witnessed protest outside the building on one occasion. We should not have had to deal with the retaliation of others. We were there paying for the excellent care that was being advertised It was our life and we were going to fight for it regardless if someone had their feelings hurt. I think in the situation as a cancer patient we would all want compassion and a doctor who would work with us to get the best quality of life. It is not wise for doctors to control patients, but lead them to the best resources to help them. Change is hard for anyone but when you are ill it is one more burden on top of a mountain of many changes. Deciphering through all the emotional changes, life style changes, and developing a trusting relationship with a new health team is very overwhelming. Some people adapt well and others take a bit more time. We are of course all unique and certainly individually our needs are different. The patient should never have to bear the burden of disgruntled workers.
Our survivorship plan after cancer treatment consisted of my husband and I seeking help from other doctors to try and undo the emotional mess we had lived through. There was no time to waste fighting for others to help. It is never easy finding new doctors and making sure they understand your medical history and entrusting our life to them. We are still working on that. We had to fire a few along the way. We did not sit back and let the downfall of what we lived through stop us from making our own survivorship plan. We take one day at a time. Each day starts with a kiss and a note to each other as we awake at different times. The notes are a reminder of love that had endured a painful past. We fill each day with activities that are fulling our dreams. We are reminded that every day is a gift and it is not always as planned. We hold our heads high and help others navigate their way through the health care system. Our mistakes are their gains. We hope that the disgruntled health care workers realize that their attitudes affect the lives of people trying to survive. They too some day may be the patient, so do unto others as you wish to be treated.
God Bless as cancer patients and caregivers !! We are survivors !!!
Life is beautiful !
Elizabeth:)
When I have read about the survivorship plan for all cancer patients and some other articles about what a cancer survivor is, I realized that my husband and I created our own plan. It started with a trip six years ago across the country to get a second opinion. Then we accepted the plan for treatment and we knew exactly what we expected from others. There were days when we were not happy with the attitude of people who were caring for my husband. I must remind us both that we are not responsible for their actions, however we are responsible for how we react to them. We had to say that we did not want some of them on our team to beat cancer. We literally had to voice our desires several times over a three year span. These people were what we called disgruntled workers and they had no problem letting us know. We have since found out that we were at a cancer center during a time of many changes with new leadership and spending cuts. We witnessed protest outside the building on one occasion. We should not have had to deal with the retaliation of others. We were there paying for the excellent care that was being advertised It was our life and we were going to fight for it regardless if someone had their feelings hurt. I think in the situation as a cancer patient we would all want compassion and a doctor who would work with us to get the best quality of life. It is not wise for doctors to control patients, but lead them to the best resources to help them. Change is hard for anyone but when you are ill it is one more burden on top of a mountain of many changes. Deciphering through all the emotional changes, life style changes, and developing a trusting relationship with a new health team is very overwhelming. Some people adapt well and others take a bit more time. We are of course all unique and certainly individually our needs are different. The patient should never have to bear the burden of disgruntled workers.
Our survivorship plan after cancer treatment consisted of my husband and I seeking help from other doctors to try and undo the emotional mess we had lived through. There was no time to waste fighting for others to help. It is never easy finding new doctors and making sure they understand your medical history and entrusting our life to them. We are still working on that. We had to fire a few along the way. We did not sit back and let the downfall of what we lived through stop us from making our own survivorship plan. We take one day at a time. Each day starts with a kiss and a note to each other as we awake at different times. The notes are a reminder of love that had endured a painful past. We fill each day with activities that are fulling our dreams. We are reminded that every day is a gift and it is not always as planned. We hold our heads high and help others navigate their way through the health care system. Our mistakes are their gains. We hope that the disgruntled health care workers realize that their attitudes affect the lives of people trying to survive. They too some day may be the patient, so do unto others as you wish to be treated.
God Bless as cancer patients and caregivers !! We are survivors !!!
Life is beautiful !
Elizabeth:)
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