| Heather Reddy | |
| http://heatherreddy.com/ | |
Heather Reddy formerly worked in the techier side of libraries and publishing. She has been a professional sick person for three years, and has held court in over a dozen emergency rooms, as a patient and as an advocate. She's had the pleasure of at least four kidney stones, undiagnosed rickets and allergic shock (twice!). What (narrowly) hasn't killed her, has only made her more savvy and critical of the medical system. She knows how doctors think. Kind of. |
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If you're an ordinary person, you'll probably make very few trips to the emergency room. If you're like me, with a chronic, not entirely managed illness, it's ONLY a monthly event if you're lucky. However frequently you fly, it's always important to understand how to get the best medical care possible for what's undoubtedly a perilous, bad, or just painful situation . Benefit from my screaming matches with hostile doctors ("But the hives on your neck SHOULD be going down! What do you expect me to do about it!"), encounters with sadistic nurses ("I'd rather not have a shot... OW!"), and the occasional productive resolution of a life threatening problem where nobody calls anybody a jerk or hypochondriac. The medical system is broken and the ER is where the cracks really show. It's also probably the most important medical trip many people make and some of the doctors and nurses are top notch, and they will save your life. Learn how not to trip prejudices and alarms you wouldn't know exist, and how to be taken seriously when things are serious. |
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