Personal Narrative: The Chronic Illness

Sometimes I ask myself how I overcame my disease. Many people with lupus experience fatigue, memory loss, loss of appetite. Usually younger African, white, and Asian men and woman develop that disease in their teens. It all started that night when I was laying in my mom bed. At that time I felt like it was my time to leave this earth. When I turn 15 years old I saw so many changes. . I experience so many symptoms while I was in my second semester. All the symptoms that I experience were hallucinations, fever, nausea, and nose bleeds. At that time I seen myself getting really sick. I caught strep throat and it was hard to focus in school because I missed so many days.

It’s a struggle to get out of bed sometimes, I often just sit there struggling to comprehend the sequence of events which have taken place over the past year. I mean, I’m used to this now, its normal to me, but the fact that this has happened and that I am now ‘disabled’ as people would put it is hard to get my head around. And every time I look down I’m reminded of the pain and the struggle I faced, it’s a physical scar which links me to my grueling past, a physical and emotional journey.

I had such a great day at clinical yesterday. I was finally able to see a vaginal delivery and that entire process. When I arrived in the morning, the mom had just received Cytotec, to help induce labor and ripen her cervix. She was forty-one weeks and zero. Around ten thirty in the morning, she asked for her epidural to manage her pain. We bolused her with fifteen hundred milliliters of lactated ringers to prevent hypotension. Shane was the certified registered nurse anesthesiologist (CRNA) who administered the epidural. It was very cool watching him administer all the needed pain relief medication before he administered the epidural to make sure that it would be placed in the epidural space in the spine. Then administered a small test dose, waited till a few blood pressures were taken, then administered the remaining about through an epidural pump. After the epidural was administered, I was able to administer her foley catheter. I was so happy that I was finally able to place one. I learned a few tricks from Maura (my nurse) as well. She taught me that it was easier to take the top off of the lubricant syringe and to place the tip of the foley inside of the syringe, that way it will not wiggle around and become unsterile. She also taught me to grab from the bottom of the labia and pull up, that way it ensures that I will have a clear entrance to

My first week went really well! I was definately both nervous and excited on the first day. I was nervous because I wasn't sure how the clinic would run and I quickly learned that it is a very fast paced clinic. My CI sees patients every 15 minutes and he is both the only PT there and the owner of the clinic. I have been learning a lot about PT treatments as well as the buisness side of the PT clinic. He has a lot of PT aides that help with exercises and setting patients up with ice and stim ect. The fast paced clinic was definately something I had to get used to. I was a little overwhelmed when we would just start with a patient and a new patient would walk in the door. However, there is a very good flow in the clinic and everyone is always

I woke up on Christmas morning to the sweet smell of coffee coming from down the hall. I jump up with excitement put my red fluffy slippers on and make my way to the kitchen telling myself that today is going to be an unforgettable day.

Today was the second day of my 6-week placement at Ward 3A-Logan Hospital, I have originally been paired with a demand casual pool RN, however, the said RN is not confident enough to handle me as her student nurse at the time. After the scrum at 7am, and the handover on the 4-bed bay + sides, I politely ask her if I could take one patient as it was one of the instructions of my CF during the orientation on day 1, but I was answered with “I’m not really familiar with the area and I’m from the demand casual pool...” Having sighted my CF at the corridors, I excused myself from the RN and discussed the matter to my CF, and she allowed me to be buddied with a very good EN, informing me that “she is an EN” before letting me to the bay and introducing me to my new buddy EN.

Being diagnosed with cancer I knew I only had one option and that was to take it to the Lord and when I did, wow! He not only healed me He delivered me too of addictions! I repented of my sins to Jesus with my whole heart and He healed me! Not instantly it was a process for months, everything except drinking and smoking that He did

Images flashed in black and white across my eyes. I gazed in complete and utter silence with my mouth cracked open. My vision clouded as pools of tears swelled in my eyes like miniature water balloons. I furrowed my eyebrows and shut my eyes briefly as a small stream of salty water traveled down my freckled cheek and onto my paper. I was in my college history class watching a film focusing on the concentration camps during the holocaust. Skeletons of people, smoke stacks wheezing death in the air, and the look of despair ran rampant throughout the camps. It was in these solemn moments of watching the video that I was rocked to my core and heart was touched; I realized that I was going to become a missionary doctor.

This week I had rotation at Genesis and also Cumberland Hall. Genesis was very different that what I expected. When I think of a “rehab” I think of people all sitting around with major withdrawal symptoms, a very strict schedule, multiple one-on-one session, and with no smoke breaks. At Genesis, throughout the day the client was able to do their own thing until the scheduled group session and smoke breaks. I was placed on the male unit and I was very surprise of the self-awareness that I experienced. Just listening men talk and tell their stories brought on a whole new prospective and quickly changed the image of the addict stereotype. While I was there we also established that all the clients was first timers and all fathers, and afterwards I was able to sit and think about how grateful I am to have my father who’s not an addict. I have had the luxury of always having a clean and sober father; which I had taking for granted.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

My score is 239, which means I am at a moderate life crisis. According to Holmes-Rahe scale, I have a 50% chance of illness such as a headache, diabetes, fatigue, hypertension, chest, back pain, ulcer and infectious disease. I happen to have frequent headaches that appear to be stress headaches, and I was diagnosed with diabetes six months ago. Currently, having increased fatigue, maybe due to the lack of sleep. Additionally, started taking omeprazole six months ago due to a right mid-abdominal pain that my doctor believe could be an ulcer. I made changes in my eating habits and lifestyle when diagnosed with diabetes; however, I have long ways to achieving wellness.

I remember when I started my recovery I was discharged from the detox program into a six month transitional program. Transitional living that deal with people recovering from addiction are often referred to as recovery residences. The Transitional Living Center provided me a place where I could re-establish my own self-worth. When I was at the transitional housing I felt safe from the possibility of a relapse. My recovery plan was individualized according to the determination of my needs. They taught me what my triggers were and how deal with them in positive ways. I remember when my six months were up and I was getting ready to be transferred into the supportive housing program to be integrated back into the community. Supportive housing allowed

I was able to make connections between the clinical and the lectures. I was able to apply the knowledge I learned from lectures and our assigned textbooks, readings, and videos to clinical. Over the course of the semester, I became much more comfortable being on the floor at the psychiatric hospital. I was able to see the symptoms the patient presented with and make connections as to what their diagnosis was. as well as the as well as see the therapeutic effects of the medication they were taking. My clinical provided me with exposure to patients with borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, eating disorders, and bipolar disorder. I was nervous about clinical simply because I didn’t know much about mental

It's hard to stay out of it when you already in it. Enduring the pain you feel for others, while they don't know it yet. I see through the lies around me and through their fake smiles. I wish I could ask them why they are smiling when they're not happy. What made me stronger was a friend who tried to change my mind to their side of the story. While we both know, you were in the wrong, but still trying to make me think the same way as she does.The lies they told me when I know the truth, and for her to still try to convince me otherwise. When I know my friend is in pain, but hide it with a smile, showing me her real self to me, but for me to do nothing to help her. Knowing that if I said something to the source of her pain, I could just make

I agree! Conditions have improved and certainly the corrupt institutions that were so fraught with abuses have now left our landscape. Unfortunately, in many ways, our jails and prisons now stand in their place housing untold numbers of people more in need of therapeutic treatment than castigation. There is no doubt my age played a role in my distress as I was still looking to my mother as an anchor to ameliorate the confusing and surreal nature of what I was seeing. Additionally, with regard to stigma, I clearly remember not wanting anyone to know my grandfather was dealing with a mental disorder. Somehow, his mental illness would spill over onto me and I would become tainted, my mental competency would be questioned. Does it run in the family?