The Girl With Arthritis

 This month, I've been binge-watching Call The Midwife. I picked it up again after missing a few seasons and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Through the happy and sad tears, my favorite part is how much the sisters and nurses care for their patients. Sometimes, I wish I could be their patient! It's not the first time I've wished to have the medical teams I see on TV.  Click here to read the full article at Psoriatic-Arthritis.com.

 I go to school with a wide variety of characters. And no, it's not because they're art students. Actually, at least half time time I go to classes with -gasp- other people. Oh the horror! Yes, there are kids studying for every type of profession. I've noticed the most popular is nursing. In fact, I would bet money on saying that for every ten students I've met, at least two are going to be nurses. Nursing has been a very popular career choice for a long time, and many think it's a stable, rewarding job. And I agree with that: Sometimes I wish I had what it takes to nurse. But I know I couldn't, so I moved on. I just wish others would too. The other day I sat in class, quietly reviewing for an exam when I heard person loudly talking about their job. I found this person is studying to be a nurse, and is working as a nursing assistant in a dementia and Alzheimer's ward. What I also found was that I'm horrified of what's happening there. This person ...

In autoimmune arthritis, there are tons of treatments you can try- from DMARDs to diets. Okay, there aren't tons,  but there are several treatments out there. You might be lucky and find that your first pick gives amazing results. But, more often than not you'll try a few. I did, and it took a few years to find what works best. To be honest, it should've happened earlier. My first rheumatologist liked to stay with one treatment, regardless of what happend. I remember one DMARD made me extremely ill for the month I took it, and I later learned that they were extremely serious side effects. Towards the end of my two years with my first rheumatologist, I wasn't feeling well at all with Methotrexate and we weren't seeing any improvements. That's when I asked my doctor "Isn't there anything else we can try?" He sighed and I remember his exact words: "We would be going to the next level after Methotrexate, and you don't want to get to that...

I've had this one thing on my chest for a long time. It's a bit of a touchy issue but right now seems like a good time to say it. It's hard to say it nicely so I'm just going to say it how I see it: I hate when people who don't have a drive to nurse become nurses. It honestly concerns me because I know so many people like that, one of them saying the other day '[Censored] this, I'm only in it for the money.' As a person who constantly receiving medical care, this is a bit horrifying. Many other people don't care about my thought. "We need more nurses." "It's a respectful job." "It's a steady job." And lots of other things will and have been said in protest to my thought. But most of these people don't realise what an affect it can have on the main goal: Patient care. I've been in and out of hospitals for years- both specifically for children and general hospitals for adults. I've met a whole var...

I think there is a lot of communication in the world. Cellphones have made it so an individual can be reached in a moments notice. The Internet has made it easier than ever to be connected with others from countries half way across the world from you. We even have more travel opportunities than ever before. However, as much as we would like to say people communicate more wisely today, we really can't. Our communication can only go so far. In the medical world, communication is a very complicated thing. It can go several ways and is different for every person.  A patient may be in extreme pain and can express that pain, but for whatever reason that pain may not be  received by a nurse or doctor. A doctor can recommend a treatment, but a patient can reject it without hearing the explanation of why it's needed, the consequences of not having it, and the benefits. A doctor or nurse may not communicate with a patient or quickly dismiss them. And there are many ot...

I'm a very bad patient. I take all my medicines on time (most of the time). I go to my appointments. I eat rather healthy and keep my weight healthy. But I don't do physical therapy. Even though the doctor wants me to so much. I've had a long history of physical therapy. Years and years of it. It never really showed any results. I've found that working out on my own has been the most effective for me personally: swimming, walking and biking has been the best for me. At physical therapy, I was stretched out and did a lot of exercises that stretched and world muscles I didn't know I have. But, mostly it did not help because they were not muscles that I needed in everyday life. By working out by myself, I'm able to strengthen muscles I use and need. For example, stairs are a problem and by working on machines that mimic stairs (with less strain that normal stairs), I'm beginning to find I'm slowly having an easier time. For some, Physical therapy is...