It's Nice to Share

You know... I wish they'd just tell you everything up front. No matter how many questions you ask a doctor they'll never tell you the things you really need to know. Call me naive, but I thought my wound would heal and I'd be recovered, I didn't realize my arms would hurt as much as my chest and that my range of motion would be severely limited. No one told me about nerve damage or physical therapy, that in planning my time, I should be penciling in lots of PT. It's not like I didn't ask what I should expect.

Many years ago when I had my first liver biopsy due to my Hep. C, my {former} doctor told me it was no big deal, you just come into the hospital, change into a gown and they extract a sample with a long needle -- it only takes a few minutes. He neglected to mention the I.V. and that after the biopsy you have to lay on your side in the recovery room for three hours and that they won't let you leave without a ride home. I could have easily planned for someone to pick up kids at the bus-stop, but I didn't know I needed too.

I feel like medical folk communicate like my teenager... if you don't ask just the right specific questions, no one's gonna give up the info. It adds insult to injury, it really does and makes life much more difficult. These keepers of the medical information should be a little more willing to share.