A Bone to Pick

I have developed several pet peeves since my diagnosis and they certainly can conjure up emotions from irritation to disgust.  Most of mine are, in fact, small ones that would probably not even be noteworthy except that I see them repeated too often.  So, I’ll be sharing my “bones” with you as I identify them.

At the top of my list is a response I sometimes get from health professionals.    I am so fortunate to have wonderful, extremely gifted doctors and nurses and other medical staff.  They have certainly earned my respect and I value their opinion.   I am often very interested in their recommendations.    However, I sometimes get the response “it’s really your personal decision.”  Duh…do I look like I don’t know that??  Btw…what decision that I make isn’t ???  For me, that response really puts a halt on the conversation and feels as if the person I am asking is in retreat mode.  I have recently found that if I begin my request with “I know this is a personal decision, but..”  that I usually get their opinion.  Along this same line of thinking, is that too many times professionals prefer to give the pros and cons as opposed to their real thoughts about the topic.  A situation I had this week made me think about this.  I was calling a hospice house to check on a dear friend of mine.  I asked the nurse how my friend was feeling.  She replied that the family had requested that her medication be reduced and that, as a result, my friend was really “paying for it now.”  I wondered if the doctor had been clear about whether or not he felt this was in her best interest when asked.

In case you think I am sounding very callous and wanting the doctors and nurses to be the authority, please rest assured that I sure don’t!  I’m just thinking maybe they may be in a culture that encourages them to play it a little too safe at times.

Do you have any bones to pick?

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