Need solutions for the medication, medical appliances and/or medical travel that you can't afford? READ EMPOWER Yourself.
A Health Information Management professional, I survived a life-threatening emergency with information that only a person of my professional experience would know. And I’m sharing it!
A group of women met regularly for a Torah/Bible Study class. While they were studying the book of Malachi, in chapter three, they came across verse three, which says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
This verse interested the women and they wondered how this statement applied to the character and nature of G-d. One of the women thought it might be a good idea to find out more about the process of refining silver, and get back to the group at their next meeting.
The next week, the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him while at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest, beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith work, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire, where the flames were the hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about G-d holding each of us in such a hot spot, and then she thought again about the verse that "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit in front of the fire the entire time the silver was being refined.
The man answered yes, that not only did he have to sit there holding the silver but he had to keep his eyes on it the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left even a moment too long in the flame, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith,
"But how do you know when the silver is finely refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh that's easy – when I see my image in it."
Learn how and what to pack for hospital or rehab center stays, how to respond so that stubborn or rude medical personnel will meet your needs, and find out about charitable organizations willing to pay part or all of your specific medical costs! Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your mind and heart with upbeat thoughts and feelings.
B'SD 26 Kislev, 5777 If you want to make holiday season happier and healthier for someone, give them a book that a Methodist minister, rabbi, medical and mental health practitioners recommend:
I'm going to address a troubling problem for ill people:
rude and cruel caregivers who pay little, if any, attention to the patient’s
remarks. I've witnessed this maddening glitch first-hand as a witness to, and
as the victim of, someone's failure to listen.
Many caregivers insist that they are noble, correct and in charge when caring
for patients be they friends, relatives or clients. HOWEVER... here's how the
conversations between some caregivers and the people they're allegedly caring
for tend to go (fill in the blanks as appropriate.):
"I know what you need..."
"I want to..."
"Stop talking. Listen to me; I know what's best for you..."
"I'm going to... Now just stop that and let me..."
"I don't want to hear you say 'I can't.' Would you just let me...?"
Did you hear the sick person above the din? Me neither. And far too often that
silence leads to a deteriorating patient who's already ill, and an increasingly
strained relationship.
The name of the problem is "Inflated Ego." Or what is sometimes
called "I Disease." The caregiver is bossing around the ill person,
issuing this barrage of "I, I, I, I," messages while genuine medical
needs go unmet. This is not a healthy situation. So, I'm providing a reality
alert: The caregiver is NOT the most important person in this scene. The
patient is the VIP (Very Important Person) here!
Here's the information that's being drowned out, along with the despairing
person who needs medical help:
"That's the wrong medication/food you're giving me."
"You're hurting me when you move me around so hard. I'm not a rock."
"You're still holding the wrong medication/food."
"The doctor said not to do it like that. You're supposed to read the
directions."
"You bet I'm upset! Please stop talking/shouting/screaming over me and
listen. Just listen!"
***
Ready to close your mouths and find out how to solve the problem? Great! Hold
that pose while the ill person in your care expresses their concerns. Next,
wait for him or her to ask you to explain what you heard and understood. Only
then may you speak. Get it? Conversation is an interactive activity.
When you enter the ill person's room, do not start talking. Smile. Observe the
scene: does the ill person seem tired/rested/content/upset/warm/cold/in or out
of pain?
Ask the patient these questions, one at a time: "How are you?" and
"Did anything change since we last spoke?" "Please tell me if
you want something." Then LISTEN without interrupting as the person
responds to you, one question at a time.
Do not treat sick people as fools. Do not threaten them. Do not speak in a
condescending manner to people who are sick. You might be dealing with
neurological or physiological changes that the patient(s) cannot control. This
is not a matter of patient willpower, this is a medical reality. You might not
realize the level of physical or emotional pain you're unnecessarily causing to
that person. You just might damage someone's already fragile health by using
the wrong medicine, medical appliance or food item, let alone the wrong
attitude.
Ordering ill people to "Snap out of it! Stop acting sad and sick" is
cruel. Behave respectfully or have someone else perform the personal care. Your
change in behavior just might improve someone's quality of life. Prevent
unwarranted suffering. Remember: communication is supposed to be fair and
productive. Good communication ends in relief.
One more item on this sensitive subject: study the sick person's behavior and
body when hired help is providing medical care. Elder abuse and other abuses in
the medical world exist. Prevent and end them by practicing good sense. Listen
with your ears, eyes and heart.
Here’s a handy list of caregiver tips, developed from my
personal experience and that of some of my Self-Help Coaching clients:
·Make a chart of all
medications used by the loved one you’re helping. Tactfully help him or her to
remember to take those medicines.
·Ask everyone who enters the patient’s room if they have washed their hands.
"No" and silence are NOT acceptable responses.
·Ask nurses to read drug orders out loud and match them to the patient’s arm
bracelet BEFORE giving something to the patient.
·Bring easily portable stuff on visits: a deck of cards, iPODs or other
devices for playing music, or something else that the patient enjoys. Coax the
patient to use his or her brain.
·Keep a little notebook with your observations so you can discuss your
concerns with medical staff, family and friends in a productive NOT GOSSIPY
manner. Write the notes discreetly. Trust me, sick people notice things. And we
tend to be easily upset.
·NEVER give a patient medication without proper supervision.
·Don’t help the patient in and out of bed unless the medical staff trained
you to do this safely.
·Help
the sick person to escape the confines of being ill. A car ride, a day in the
park or gentle beach, perhaps a shopping center with comfortable seating areas,
a family event, are just some ideas for trips. Cabin fever can slow down
recovery and coping processes. Changes in scenery can work wonders.
·Cheerfully help
with housework: cooking, cleaning, child care, lawn care, etc. Find out if meals
can be safely made by other people.
·Allow
the person to speak about their medical/emotional crisis. The release leads to
perspective, emotional relief and healing. In mental circles, this is called
"venting" and wow it’s a great help!
·Chat with the
patient about life. Your work, news headlines, funny incidents, something other
than illness.
·Forgive the person for saying or doing
something unusual. Some medications affect behavior and memory, let alone body
functions. Thinking clearly might be a struggle for someone coming out of
anesthesia or taking medications. The challenging medical situation is a hard thing to manage on its own.
·Bite your lips!
Don’t focus on what your loved one can or cannot do. Infantilizing a person
facing a medical or emotional crisis is cruel and harmful. DO FOCUS on what the
person can do and intends to do. Meeting goals, and trying to do so, is
strengthening in many ways.
·Assist the person
in your care when they’re taking medication. Wipe lips as necessary, and with a
gentle touch. Remember also, that eyesight might be affected. He or she I might
not be able to read the small print on the bottle.
·Be gracious about sleeping problems. A
person facing illness could have difficulty sleeping. Gently and firmly explore what will help
the person to relax, to enjoy restful, restorative sleep.
·Empower the patient. Let him or her make
choices, use the television remote and anything else they’d like to do within
reason. Offer to help
the person to create a list of goals on a paper or a poster-board they can more
easily read. Check off accomplishments and celebrate them.
·Have patience. Be
respectful. Know that you cannot possibly understand the illness experience
from the patient’s perspective. Some things are hard to convey. Practice a
compassionate pose on your facial muscles. Use it often.
While we're on the topic of patience and perspective,
consider this: One of the worrisome - and dangerous - problems for people with
cancer is loss of appetite from chemotherapy (sometimes referred to as Cancer
Anorexia). That causes an ever-lowering calorie count. Not a good side-effect!
Cancer upsets metabolism. Chemotherapy traumatizes the human body, creating the
need for superb nutrition. Side-effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and
physical weakness from chemotherapy make food most unappetizing. Both problems
combined mean the affected person keeps losing weight, mostly from muscle loss.
A delightful solution to the problems is to put some thought, family and
friendship energy into preparing highly nutritious and visually appealing meals
for a person with cancer. Imagine the good that can do for someone who
desperately needs body-building food.
The need for nutrition is true for any seriously ill person, no matter who is
facing a medical crisis or why. Look at the situation from the situation of a
sick child, elderly person, or anyone who's ill and their worldview. Do they
lack teeth? Do they have mouth sores that will be further irritated by food and
hot or cold temperatures? Is the person's gag reflex going to be problematic?
Scolding is NOT appropriate. Making fun of the person
refusing or unable to eat is cruel, not helpful. Neither are guilt trips. Cook
up a meal and a plan to get the suffering person to eat it. Focus on pleasure,
soothing results, and compassion.
Find solutions. Use blenders to create smooth, easily
swallowed textures. Straws make food fun for little ones sipping blended food
with soup or water added to it. Warmish gello is a quick picker-upper for
someone trying to build strength to swallow more nutritious fare (it also
soothes sore throats). Use towels as bibs for larger diners who spill food
despite their best efforts to be neat. DO NOT COMPLAIN about the laundry this
will cause. Here's a nice dessert for everyone involved: by helping the ill
person to eat better, you'll feel better for expressing a level of kindness
unparalleled in the medical world.
While we're on the topic of good manners, here's the
skinny on Wheelchair Etiquette 101:
People who use wheelchairs don’t do that for your
convenience. Think of it this way: the wheelchair is similar to an arm, leg or
any other necessary body part for the person sitting in one. A wheelchair is
literally the extension of a person's body, not a toy or handy-dandy catch-all.
You don't smear fingerprints on someone's glasses, do you?
Try out their hearing aids? Of course not; that's crossing personal boundaries.
When you fail to heed the personal boundaries that wheelchairs represent, you
make people uncomfortable...
Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your shopping list with things that people appreciate!
I was at a party last night. The hostess asked each international guest to introduce themselves as we sat in a circle. As the conversation continued, one person mentioned that she's helping someone to get past a medical problem with her dignity intact by using a book. The hostess asked "Which book is that?" I almost dropped my drink when the answer filled the air!
Then, the hostess remarked, "Oh, I have a copy of it on my bookshelf. Here it is! My whole family reads this whenever we need to!" She pointed to the bookshelf where she stores her copy. Here's something that a reader wrote on the EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge Facebook page: "A moving, uplifting book. Order it now ! Not only for yourself but others in your world..." Readers, you can be someone's hero or heroine with the simple gift of the book. It helps you and your loved one(s), friends or mentors to lose stress, to connect with much-needed medical and mental health professionals, and to lower your medical expenses.
EMPOWER Yourself readers share it automatically.
I feel blessed to have helped so many people, whose names and faces I simply do not know. Read the back cover to learn of the doctor who said the book saved his life. Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge today. Be someone's hero or heroine. Perhaps your own. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism. Feel like a hero. And let me know, what color is your cape?
B'SD 29 Kislev, 5773 Thanks to theUnited with Israel and Thank Israeli Soldiers organizations, I spent time sharing Hanuka donuts with Israeli soldiers last night, near the Gaza border.
Many Israeli civilians joined in the fun of saluting the heroes who protect our lives. People in the crowd discussed heroism, what it is, and how to be a hero. A couple seated near me mentioned a serious medical matter to me after realizing I'm the author of
The book holds soothing ideas about recognizing your inner strengths, how to nurture them, and how to be your own hero or someone else's.
As you wait for your copy of the book to arrive (order it here), consider this.
Christian lay-clergyman Carl Philips praised EMPOWER Yourselffor its spirituality. Buy the E-book or print edition today for a brighter holiday season if you celebrate Hanuka or Xmas. Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Grow beyond your expectations.
B'SD 16 Kislev, 5773 You know it's unusual for me to post updates on a Friday. My heart is rollercoastering from what I've learned today. Readers of EMPOWER Yourself have been contacting me since the early hours of the morning. They've let me know that the book held resources they need for dealing with
Bi-polar disorder,
Chronic pain and how to combat it,
Physical rehabilitation concerns
and a bit more.
Why did these readers contact me out of the blue? To thank me. They'd despaired of meeting their needs after long, frantic searches for necessary information.Then they found information they truly needed on the pages of
As one caller put it, "This book is a Do-it-Yourself Healing Kit!"
THAT, dear readers, is how I designed it. You can help yourself a great deal just by reading the soothing, informative content. Share it with loved ones (they can help you to fill in blanks on specific pages), and/or with your medical team. Lots of medical and mental health professionals respect the book and what it does for readers. Chanuka begins next Sunday night. Christmas is almost here. Kwanzaa celebrants want good gifts, too. Buy a copy for someone you love, including yourself. Buy it for your employees and watch their health improve. Give out copies to supporters of your charitable organizations. Everyone can appreciate stress-busting, cost-cutting information that saves time and everybody's sanity!
Buy the E-book or print edition today for a brighter holiday season: Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism. And get your grin back ;^ D
B'SD 13 Kislev, 5773 Well that's a heckuva subject line, eh? I'm surprised to note that shoppers are filling online and physical international malls at this time of year. With suffering economies, rising health insurance costs and lowering reimbursements for medical bills, I was sure that people would shy away from luxuries at this time. Hurricane Sandy survivors sure need to conserve their cash after being ordered to demolish their wrecked homes. I'm wondering if the frivolity will further damage personal healthcare realities in the foreseeable future. When I read this devastating story Ill Woman Dies Abroad Due to Airline Restrictions I realized that no matter where you are, no matter your financial situation, you and someone you know can probably benefit from the patient-empowering information inside
The pitiful story of that ill traveler could have been prevented in one reading of the EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge book. It lists contact information for
worldwide charitable organizations that provide no-cost flights to medically
needy passengers. Find out the rest of the book's stress-reducing, cost-cutting information. Medical and mental health professionals recommend you read the book. Click here to buy it today. Meanwhile, I'll be tuned to the radio, keeping up with alerts of missiles heading to Israel. New ones were shot at Israel last night. How do I keep my composure and optimism going strong under the assault? I follow the same advice I share in the book! There's a good reason that medical and mental health professionals recommend it. Less stress and you keep your cash. Pretty compelling reasons for one small investment, huh? Buy the E-book or print edition today for a brighter, affordable holiday season and beyond: Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism. Don't let your struggle become your identity.
B'SD 7 Kiselv, 5773 Kislev is usually a merry month leading up to the festival of Chanuka, when Jews routed out Syrian Greeks from the Holy Land and our Holy Temple (eventually destroyed by other enemies). But the Code RED Gen is facing the sorrow and violence foisted upon us by another of our millenial-long Jew haters.
In Recovery Mode from a medical or mental health situation?
Want to be?
Buy the E-book or print edition today for a brighter holiday season no matter what's going on: Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
B'SD 28 Cheshvan, 5773 Last night I received my certification
as a Melavah Holim, a spiritual counselor for people facing chronic and/or
life-threatening illness, from the TISHKOFET organization. The training
added to my experience as a former Health Information Management professional
within the US healthcare system, and as someone certified in Counseling Skills
by Refuah Institute. There's more to my background in greeting emotional stress due to medical and mental health issues with compassion. With GOD's help my TISHKOFET-based interactions will help the people who seek me out. I feel uncomfortable sharing the info via the Internet, but I want potential readers of
to know my skill set. And yes, the person who trained me owned a copy of the book before training began ;^ D Compassion for the readers who need the book is on every page. That's why I sign off each blogpost with the phrase "Face Your
Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your
Future with Optimism." Save your sanity, time and money with the information inside. Learn how to tame the tigers of bureaucratic chaos, paper blizzards called insurance and medical records and more. You'll also find out about worldwide organizations willing to pay part or all of your medical costs, and about how to satisfy lots of other medical, mental health and disability necessities with minimal fuss and expense.
Buy your copy of theEMPOWER Yourself E-book or print edition, or a loved one's, today. Click on the wordsEMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challengefor a brighter look at your mental or medical health situation. Give your clients and business associates a happier holidayseason!
Store owners, organization and other business administrators can place bulk orders by clicking HERE.
Face Your Medical, Disability or Mental Health problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.
B'SD 9 Cheshvan, 5773 Several days ago I was running around Jerusalem,
wondering "What's the next miracle in my life gonna be?" and stopped to ask a
guy if the bus stop I seek goes to a destination I need. He responded in Hebrew
but I heard a distinct Anglo accent in a voice I recognized. I took off my sunglasses
and greeted one of my Facebook friends, Lowell Gallin! He bust out laughing and booked me for a 10-minute tv segment for his online Laura and Lowellshow based in New York! The
filming went easily this morning as Lowell and I attracted an impromptu Jerusalem audience
with our easy banter. I managed to get things right in one take (I'm still a
"One Take Wonder"). I'll alert you when the show has been uploaded to YouTube
(my Refua Radio Show went KAPUT after YouTube made it harder and harder to
share). As it happens, the small audience was deeply impressed by the information I shared. They called the show "Inspirational!" Lowell just might record me on a regular basis for a while. I'm interested to find out how that can help listeners and readers. Let me know what's on your mind regarding health concerns. Perhaps I can address your issues and questions on the show next time it's filmed. Let's share some TV time for your benefit. Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challengefor a more affordable and happier Hanuka, Kwanzaa and Xmas! The book saves your sanity, time and money with information you or someone important to you needs!
I'm gearing up for a trip the first week of November. I look forward to letting you know about it after I return to my home office. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.
Here's a convenient break from feeling sick and over-focusing on it to your detriment. May spiritual light illuminate your life. And puh-leez use sensible saftey practices all Chanuka-long (GUARD THE KIDS!). Israel's fire station directors warn that this is a major house-fire season.
I made Potato Pirogen (Gnocci) Soup to celebrate the 1st night of Chanuka: Quinoa (red and white), brown rice, homegrown beet leaves, ground pepper, sea salt, oregano, sweet potato, tomato paste, chopped onions and filtered water, then shared it with friends. YUM! Diners licked the pot clean, so to speak. My organic home gardening and culinary efforts led to a BIG success at the Chanuka feast we shared. Ahh, I like cooking when I'm not doing my usual raw foods diet. Always have enjoyed kitchen creativity...
My dear friend Rabbi Pinchas Winston is sharing this ChanukaShabbatvideofor your Chanuka illumination.
The Chanuka lights are filled with holiness and happiness. Light Up Your Life with Chanuka and Feel Better Soon! May Heaven help you through your rough patches as pleasantly as possible.
Latkes are fun with zuccini, sour cream, apple sauce and other recipes. Here's a cookbook for a healthier, happier life: Quick and convenient E-book EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Only at http://www.booklocker.com/books/4244.html
Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.
offers advice on how to lose the weight in your heart, how live a healthier life despite your illness and how beat stress. The E-book can also save you mounds of money with information on how to receive low-cost and no-cost 1st-quality medical care, medication, medical appliances, medical transportation and a whole lot more!
Tired of begging for answers, getting angry looks from medical professionals and/or social workers? Angry at being made to feel as if you don't matter, like a number in line? Your life is on that line.
