My dog enjoyed his nursing home visit. Therapy dogs and service dogs are different, and should never be confused, but service dogs are expected to have far better skills than therapy dogs, and I already knew from many past experiences that he was good around wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, odd moving beds, alarms for patients wandering off, etc. It's not a good environment for a dog that is at all timid of new things.
Patient advocacy is crucial in getting good health care. If you don't have family to speak for you, you must speak for yourself even when really sick, and even when you can speak (or write) for yourself, you may get ignored,.
When I wrote my article on thyroid hormone disorders over a decade ago, I got contacted by many patients with thyroid issues. A lot of them had the same issue: their doctors weren't listening to them on how sick they were. Hypothyroidism does make people tired, confused, anxious, foggy and not good at asserting
themselves, as well as making them feel like they have a permanent case of the flu.They can mainfest as depressed.
To a few people who clearly were quite sick, I suggested (based on my own experiences dealing with doctors as a deaf person, sans interpreter), that they write down everything they wanted to say BEFORE they went in. Include links. Have family help fill in symptoms they hadn't noticed if they were too ill to do it. If they are concerned due to medical research, print out the actual article (primary source OR from a reputable organization, not secondary/news source) for the doctor, not just cite it from memory.. If the doctor still won't listen, get another one. This sounds like simple sense, but it's very hard to think in the midst of illness and stress. One woman I spoke to had slipped into myxedema coma three times because the doctors thought her dosage was too high and kept trying to lower it. (I don't know why, something wrong in their medical training, I think), and was fearful she would not survive the next experience, and rightfully so. She decided to see a doctor out-of-state twice a year and do blood tests in between; extreme but the change in her life and outlook was worth it.
Yesterday, I learned that nursing homes in a few states at least no longer are required to have kitchens or dieticans (too expensive), and the food is "catered." In the case of the nursing home I visited, that meant prepackaged food steamed and served. Not always fully cooked, which is concerning when meat is steamed and served. It's also not appropriate for patients with special diet or digestive concerns. Some patients order out a lot. Others, can't. It reminded me how important patient advocacy remains, especially for those who can't simply escape to another state.
I felt fulfilled as an writer to have people contacting me about my thyroid article and being able to help them. As a child I was often rather uncomfortable listening to people's problems, until I realized sometimes we can't really do that much, but just be there to listen and point out what they already know.
People think at their best when they feel safe and strong enough to act, not while under threat and weakened. Sometimes a simple conversation is enough.