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!
B'SD 3 Elul, 5774 In the past I've posted about your need to be nurturing your inner giggle and clearing out overstuffed brains. A medical professional just endorsed that point of view. I'd like to share his thoughts with you. Lower your blood pressure in one reading with
The Benefits of Taking Time to Recharge
If the link above doesn't work for you, click here.
I've spent time this week reconnecting with old friends and making new ones now that I've completed a grueling year of ICD10 medical coding studies. I'm also recharging my content provider and other communication services (voiceover work, public speaking efforts, etc.) as I help the world at large to improve its health as best I can.
Stand by for some personal battery-recharged news. I bet it will leave you smiling.
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. Make the most of your time, until we meet again.
It's been a while since I posted to this blog, and for good reason. I've been traveling, seeking a home in a different city, and interviewing for employment as I dodge missiles while fellow Israelis and I mind our own business and/or try to stay alive.
My emotions were at peak performance last week, when a misdiagnosed medical issue and the humorous resolution to the "problem" improved my mood.
Before you read further, remember what I write about in the book, mention in my public appearances, and believe with my whole heart:
1. YOU are your own best medical advocate.
2. Keep the door open to healing/coping possibilities. Don't slam it shut in GOD's face. If you refuse to try options that can possibly help you, then GOD has nothing to work with. You've shut off your own supply system, so to speak.
Okay, back to last week's adventure: I was distressed by a mysterious medical problem, knowing full well that I will likely spend the rest of my life healing from the devastating effects of a benign brain tumor called a Petroclival Tentorial Meningioma. It had blinded and almost killed me in 2004. Life-saving surgery was in 2005.
My healing efforts focus on alternative/natural healing techniques because the Western Medical World has held no promise for my improved health or vision.
I have been blessed with astonishing success these past nine years. My eyesight continues to improve (the prescription for my glasses was lowered for the umpteenth time in July 2014). My overall health and physical strength are remarkably better than that of many people my age - including that of people who've never endured a medical crisis.
But one aspect of my recovery seemed maddeningly difficult to achieve: Sensation in my face. The former tumor's effects and the surgery to remove it had harmed the nerves which control my facial movements plus the ability to sense pain, touch or movement. My face has felt numb for a long time. I've repeatedly fallen asleep as a dentist drills my teeth to create fillings!
So, when I consulted with my health fund's eye doctor about a swollen cheek and eyelids - let alone disturbed vision - last week, she asked if I had other symptoms. "Yes, my face is in so much pain I'm ready to cry," I responded. "The pain is worsening by the hour."
The doctor examined me. She could not find the source of the problem and suspected a dangerous reason for the rising pain. I was told to report to an emergency room if the pain grew severe. I followed the advice within a day. My emotions were high with fear, concern and curiosity: How could this be happening and what did it mean, medically speaking?
Friends and I chatted around the clock as we hoped for a pleasant ending to the adventure. They wanted to pray for GOD to heal me from some dread medical problem, but I asked them not to. "Just ask GOD to make me healthier than I am. We don't have a diagnosis yet, so let's not over-dramatize the situation." They reluctantly agreed to my request. We prayed for my improved health.
Meanwhile, medical specialists examined me over the next 48 hours. I let some friends know that two doctors out of a rather large, growing bunch of medical professionals, suspected a rather low-key explanation for the pain. "I'm with them," I insisted. I refused to believe that a dire diagnosis was ruling the day.
Tired of medical tests and of meeting so many medical people in a short amount of time, I began laughing as medical reports began piling up. All of them indicated excellent health and a breath-taking improvement in my ability to see. But the big, and growing bigger, medical team lacked a consensus on what had made my face and one set of eyelids swell, let alone cause astonishing pain. Two theories prevailed, but we eventually had a medical evidence tie-breaker: I was experiencing a sinus infection! Nothing more dangerous than that. WHEW!
The blessing, as all the doctors and I realized with gradual awareness, was the very pain in my face. I had almost fainted from it. Why? I have not felt sensation in my face for almost a decade. Suddenly I sensed the effects of sinus congestion/swelling. It's severity shocked me. THAT was a tipoff to the medical team that my facial nerves have recovered. My new task is to re-learn how to appreciate facial sensation such as touch, wind, temperature and more.
I am grateful for the blessing. I can feel pain. I can sense pleasure, too. And I am relieved to have lived the life lesson I teach: To keep the doors open to miraculous possibilities. Who knows how this medical adventure could have turned out?
What if I'd allowed people to pray for a miracle I didn't need?
Or what if I'd tiraded at GOD and blamed Him/Her for the ruckus?
What if I hadn't let GOD "do the driving" so to speak?
And what If I'd rued the pain instead of realizing the blessing that it is?
Read Psalm 140. It's quite an eye-opener.
Let the soothing begin. Look at life with calmer eyes and perspective.
B'SD 16 Av, 5774 Do you or someone you know have a brain tumor? Is paying for necessary care a problem? This blogpost might have a solution or two! Hurry up to benefit from the first item in today's update:
Copayment assistance program about to close If you need help paying for your treatments, send it the applications as soon as possible. I think it will only be open another day or 2.
Here's the second item you might need to know about: Anyone with Glioblastoma can apply to participate in a clinical trial by clicking here. The Musella Foundation is only one of MANY organizations listed in the Global Resources section of
Read that whole part of the book to learn of organizations - worldwide - willing to pay part or all of your specific medical/mental heath care costs. Lower the price on your medical appliances, medical transportation, medication and more by asking for assistance from the groups listed in the book. Read the rest of the book to learn how to
Put your medical appointment life in order,
Calm down from fear, sadness and pain,
Improve your life when medical professionals or relatives are rude to you,
and more. You'll get your grin back as you read 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. Find what you need for your medical and/or mental health care.
B'SD 14 Av, 5774 I've known of medical professionals harassed by their bosses and by a medical system that undermines their health, let alone that of their patients. I did not find many people who believed my comments about the problem. Today I found this online article and felt vindicated:
There are medical and mental health professionals in fine mental health who are ready to help you. Learn about them, and about first-class organizations willing to pay part or all of your specific medical costs, in
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. Fear factors should not be part of healthcare's background. Protect yourself - and your doctor - by protesting mistreatment to medical societies.
I'm still catching my breath and perfecting my poise after an extraordinarily sad day yesterday. Politicians fail to admit important realities: Terrorists live to destroy the world at large. Look at this sad situation in Iraq for proof of that. Need more proof? Today's the 9th anniversary of Israel's handover of Gush Katif. Instead of using the greenhouses to make income and food, instead of building cities and public works to benefit others, terrorists turned it into a shooting gallery. But my US readers are struggling with a different challenge:
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. Feel the joy of positive improvement.
B'SD 9 Av, 5774 Today is an historically, unspeakably sad day on the Jewish calendars:Tisha B'Av, the 9th day of the Jewish
month Av. The Jewish world is focused on specific prayers today, and on character improvement (a lifelong project) everyday A lot of sad life lessons are on our minds. But Jews optimistically anticipate the Messianic arrival, which is clearly closer than ever with the passage of time. Persevering past sadness is a responsible, mature response to life's challenges. Upbeat thoughts and actions are effective ways to cope with sadness. I'm about to share such a thought. Here's some brand new, cost-cutting update from the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research and Information, which is listed in the Global Resources section of
You can share that news with people who need it. BTW, there's more helpful information about the Musella Foundation, and about lots of other organizations ready to cut YOUR medical costs, in the EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challengebook. Want more information on how to deal with medical and/or mental health issues? Find out can-do ways to persevere past sadness and into a more pleasant mindset.
Now you can better understand why I hope you'll appreciate the punchline hinted at below:
***
Are you in the mood to share nice news? Hang on for the punchline:
For reasons too dreary to describe, I have not succeeded in accessing the disability-ending surgery that all my doctors - including hospital eye clinic professionals - want for me. I would see as normal people do within a mere 10 minutes and the stitch of 1 muscle. But Heaven decreed that this surgery was not to be. So...
She and her college students gave me specific daily exercises to strengthen my eye muscles and nerves. We held our breath and hoped for the best starting June 16 2014 and planned to meet again in September.
BUT...
We had a serious situation these past few weeks due to my increasing struggle to read a PC monitor or a book with my reading glasses.
I was called in for a full workup at the optometry college where my doctor teaches. The appointment was July 31st, a mere month or so after starting to do those healing/strengthening exercises. Top students examined me under the doctor's direction, after she stepped out of the exam room to let them proceed.
The exam results so startled the staff that they ran to get my doctor.
The shock was so strong that it seemed as if almost the whole class crammed into the exam room to meet me and to have a chance to examine my eyes.
We went from a serious emergency eye exam to a partyatmosphereduring the extensive checkup.
during the extensive checkup.
The exercises have so improved my vision that I probably have a whole 'nuther news article coming up. The new prescription for my eyewear, lower power than previously (as usual, thank GOD), has already been made for me. What blessings my doctor, her students and those exercises are, in my life! I'd like to give a hat-tip to Robert Williams of the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association, as he has been an important part of my vision recovery.
And, I want to make this public THANK YOU to Av HaRakhamim Rofeh Cholim (Hebrew for Compassionate Father, Healer of the Sick)!
Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism. Feel free to try medical innovations that can help you. Open the door to wonderful possibilities.
B'SD 5 Av, 5774 The world at large knows I've been under fire with the rest of Israel for weeks. Life has been hectic, and rather tiring. Sleep deprivation is nasty stuff. So is this. I want to focus on what's going right with the world, so here are some heartwarming updates about medical advances, some of it news you probably need to know:
Surgical staples have their up and down
sides. Check out this improvement on the problem:TopClosure!
The Ebola virus has made scary
headlines and miserable lives (not that they last long after a person has
contracted the illness). The exciting news is thata cure for
Ebola might soon be a reality!
Heart health is high on medical agendas.
Listen in on an expert'sQuality of
Care Improvementassessment of that.
Need to know how to organize overwhelming amounts of medical and appointment information in your life? Want to lower the cost of your medical and/or mental health care? You need to read
Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. It's been a bargain for readers around the world, saving time & money, let alone preventing heartaches and headaches. Medical and mental health professionals recommend that you read it and follow the suggestions inside. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism. Fill your life with healing optimism.
