The Girl With Arthritis

Lately I've had incidents of my fingernails and toenails turning blue. It's not as if the skin was blue, which would be terrifying, but it was still a little concerning. I brought it up with my rheumatologist the other day and showed him numerous pictures I took of it. After he examined my fingers and toes and felt how cold they are, he gave me a diagnosis: The blue was caused by me standing or sitting up. The treatment? Lie down. Best treatment ever. I took this with a grain of salt. Lie down every time? I can't wait to lie down in class, on the train, randomly in stores. It's literally a dream come true. Doctors really don't get it. They don't listen. Even the best of the best can be dismissive sometimes. I really like my rheumatologist and I've been with him for years, but sometimes he's just a pain in the butt. Did not listen to me explain that it happens when I can't warm my fingers or toes? It's obvious I probably just have a very mil...

"How do you get a doctor to listen to you?" This is the ultimate question. The answer is so rare and secretive, that is it priceless. There is just one secret statement that will make a doctor listen and that statement is.... Well. It's more complicated than that. It's hard to believe but doctors are real people. And like the general population, their personalities differ. You're going to get along with some and you will not with others. Some people are introverts and others are extroverts. We all have our good and bad days. Doctors are like teachers: You loved some and hated some, some loved you and others didn't. And it was for many different reasons. Some saw your potential, and others passed you off as nothing special. And it doesn't mean much at times. For example, Teachers said John Lennon would go nowhere. It's the same basic idea with doctors. First, we have to realise that some people are better at listening than others. This and other p...