Posts
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Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst New York
( A suburb of Buffalo, N.Y.)
and has worked in the ophthalmology
field of medicine for nearly 40 years
Photo aboveJudith with youngest son Joel recuperating from a heart attack |
Don't Ignore Symptoms; it may save your Life
Recently a family member was having, what he thought, was having some ingestion, severe indigestion. Because of his young age, health care professionals thought it had been eating habits that were causing the symptoms. The outcome would have been much different had he listened to the
doctors and not pursued further medical treatment.
More often than not, we have symptoms in our daily lives that we chose to ignore, for whatever reason,
busy life style, time constraints, we hope the symptoms will pass and go away. This is where our own intuition kicks in and that little voice we often hear in our minds tells us -take care of this. Symptoms like indigestion, arm and jaw pain can mean many things, but in many cases are a sure sign of a heart attack happening. We must insist on taking immediate action if these symptoms continue; it can make the difference between life or NOT.
Now a days many doctors have busy practices and can miss seeing the forest through the trees; they assume too much and make a judgment call. When they look at a person that seemingly looks healthy they order some testing in their specialty and call it a day. The urgency is not always addressed and their decisions can have a tremendous and final affect on the outcome.
If you are not satisfied with a decision from a specialist, seek additional opinions. Today with medicine becoming a business in many instances, the focus has somewhat shifted to a numbers game. Doctors have to think of much more these days than just practicing good medicine and can get distracted. We must more than ever, advocate for ourselves in a medical crisis; if it doesn't seem like the right
decision, it may not be.
If our family had not acted quickly in this instance, the outcome would have had a fatal ending.
Working in the health field for the last 40 years, I have seen people misdiagnosed, over medicated, under medicated and everything in between. It simply comes down to having a Doctor that really listens to the patient and takes the time to eliminate conditions to get to the bottom of their problem.
Doctors are sometimes notorious for treating the symptoms to make them go away and make the patient happy. At times they mask the symptoms and make it difficult to get a “working diagnosis” which is critical to treat a problem.
Our family was lucky, we had a doctor that excelled in his field and took the time to recognize symptoms regardless of age or present health. We will forever be in his debt for his quick thinking and expertise.
Our whole family realizes now more than ever, if we don't feel well, don't brush the symptoms under the rug and hope for the best. . Doctors are educated and take an oath to treat and preserve health but sometimes can neglect to see the whole person. Many people still think today that if the Doctor is a
nice person, they must be good at treatment; not so. When choosing a Doctor, look at their credentials, check out their comments and ratings on websites and review their accomplishments. Yes, its great to “like” your doctor but more than ever, it is more important to be impressed by their competency.
If you question their treatment plan and are answered with dismay, than maybe they aren't a good fit for you?
Act on your own intuition- it may save your life some day.
Further reading on this subject and a personal view
on Joel's recent heart attack;
"Young or old, anybody can suffer a heart attack."
http://dakinetalk.blogspot.com/2016/08/young-or-old-anybody-can-suffer-heart.html
Read all about what Joel does for a living!
What is the definition of hero?
http://dakinetalk.blogspot.com/2016/01/what-is-definition-of-hero-judith.html
doctors and not pursued further medical treatment.
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| Steve and Judy fly out west to be with their son Joel during his recent unexpected heart surgery |
More often than not, we have symptoms in our daily lives that we chose to ignore, for whatever reason,
busy life style, time constraints, we hope the symptoms will pass and go away. This is where our own intuition kicks in and that little voice we often hear in our minds tells us -take care of this. Symptoms like indigestion, arm and jaw pain can mean many things, but in many cases are a sure sign of a heart attack happening. We must insist on taking immediate action if these symptoms continue; it can make the difference between life or NOT.
Now a days many doctors have busy practices and can miss seeing the forest through the trees; they assume too much and make a judgment call. When they look at a person that seemingly looks healthy they order some testing in their specialty and call it a day. The urgency is not always addressed and their decisions can have a tremendous and final affect on the outcome.
If you are not satisfied with a decision from a specialist, seek additional opinions. Today with medicine becoming a business in many instances, the focus has somewhat shifted to a numbers game. Doctors have to think of much more these days than just practicing good medicine and can get distracted. We must more than ever, advocate for ourselves in a medical crisis; if it doesn't seem like the right
decision, it may not be.
If our family had not acted quickly in this instance, the outcome would have had a fatal ending.
Working in the health field for the last 40 years, I have seen people misdiagnosed, over medicated, under medicated and everything in between. It simply comes down to having a Doctor that really listens to the patient and takes the time to eliminate conditions to get to the bottom of their problem.
Doctors are sometimes notorious for treating the symptoms to make them go away and make the patient happy. At times they mask the symptoms and make it difficult to get a “working diagnosis” which is critical to treat a problem.
Our family was lucky, we had a doctor that excelled in his field and took the time to recognize symptoms regardless of age or present health. We will forever be in his debt for his quick thinking and expertise.
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| Thanks to great doctors and caring parents Joel is on his way to recovery from his recent heart attack. The photo was taken at Normans rare guitars in LA where Joel is a Luthier. Read more of what Joel does for a living at a link at the end of this blog! |
Our whole family realizes now more than ever, if we don't feel well, don't brush the symptoms under the rug and hope for the best. . Doctors are educated and take an oath to treat and preserve health but sometimes can neglect to see the whole person. Many people still think today that if the Doctor is a
nice person, they must be good at treatment; not so. When choosing a Doctor, look at their credentials, check out their comments and ratings on websites and review their accomplishments. Yes, its great to “like” your doctor but more than ever, it is more important to be impressed by their competency.
 |
| Joel, resting up and feeling better |
If you question their treatment plan and are answered with dismay, than maybe they aren't a good fit for you?
Act on your own intuition- it may save your life some day.
Further reading on this subject and a personal view
on Joel's recent heart attack;
"Young or old, anybody can suffer a heart attack."
http://dakinetalk.blogspot.com/2016/08/young-or-old-anybody-can-suffer-heart.html
Read all about what Joel does for a living!
What is the definition of hero?
http://dakinetalk.blogspot.com/2016/01/what-is-definition-of-hero-judith.html
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| "Judy, Judy, Judy!" |
Hana Hou, (Encore)
