Be your own advocate.

I hate to make a habit of this but another friend from our community and culture passed away this month. Rip Kevin Griffith was an elite athlete, a consummate outdoorsman, wickedly literate with a limitless curiosity, a fierce intelligence and a humor full of Infinite Jest .   He suffered from too many injuries and too much medication.  He wore out.   RIP.

A few months ago, I swung by my friendly physician for some chronic concussion headaches I still had from a bike crash last year.  He quickly saw a standing pulse rate of 35, freaked out and handed me off to a great cardio Nurse Practitioner who took the time to accurately evaluate and explain my situation.  She gave me an EKG and three days and $80,000 later a phantom super surgeon gave me a Pacemaker.  I asked why.  They said my heart ‘wore out’. 

The headaches remained however and so I saw a very funny, local PhD – Physical Therapist and she tested my eyesight and balance and found I couldn’t see Shine-Ola.  I had Exercised Induced Dysautonomia, caused by multiple concussions from my carelessly active lifestyle.  It’s on the internet.  It can affect heart, head, sight, balance, emotions, and mental health.  A local Neurologist woman urged me to rest when tired; physically, mentally, and emotionally.  The good news is that they can stimulate my infant brain with PT, and it might get reborn.

Then I was playing in a Pickle Ball tournament in Arizona when my Achilles snapped like a piano string.  I knew what it was before I hit the ground.  After a quick erroneous diagnose at a doc-in-the-box, I got a second opinion and had repair surgery by a strange doctor in a strange hospital.  I asked him why it snapped and he said it ‘wore out’. 

My insurance company refused to cover much of the cost until I told them that I was not ‘vacationing’ in Arizona but was ‘living’ there temporarily.  Semantics, but it made a $60,000 difference.  Words matter. I started slow PT in Arizona but it was a month before they let me get out to swim and ride a bike, for fear of falling.  In aging Arizona I was an athlete, a superstar, a stud pushing the limits.  Back In Olympic Park City I am just another worn out, old local schmuck puttering at PT.  It’s all relative.   

A month later I got my Covid shot in a parking lot and my old rotator shoulder injuries flared up with pain and limited range of motion.  Three local trophy-docs, at our oak and brass hospital, took a quick look and recommend more tests or perhaps reverse shoulder replacement.  A Neurologist healer lady, in a strip mall in Murry, did her research and spent 2 hours with me and figured it out.  It turns out a bad vaccine shot, high and deep, can flare up an old shoulder injury. It’s a thing - SIRVA.  With a little PT and some steroids, it might heal in a year or two.  It’s worn out.

The moral of this sad story is that the practice of medicine is not what it was.  Unfortunately, we no longer have a personal relationship with our physician.  Regrettably, doctors are rushed and hassled by administrators, insurance companies and lawyers.  They don’t have the time to look you in the eye and talk or touch you much more than they touch their computers.  You must be your own advocate, do your own research and manage your own care and finances.  Trust but verify.

Find the healers and nurturers who will spend time and latch on to them.  They are often Nurses and usually women and they are priceless.  Find the people good at their specialties who can look at your health holistically or comprehensively and see or solve the big picture.  Granted I had a bad year, but all these things are related or connected, with an iterative solution. 

An old Irish woman once told me, on an Irish bike ride, ‘you only get so many beats in your heart and if you waste them riding around Ireland you will die young’.  Maybe, but we don’t exactly see it that way.  Nonetheless, practice moderation in all things, including moderation.   Pace yourself while you are young and back off as you get older.   Really listen to your body.  Heed your head.  Things wear out.