Unlock Your Potential

Now where did i put my coffee cup… Oh hello, I didn't see you sitting there.

In some recent discussions, I've noticed an interesting trend. People who won't go to see the doctor or hospital either straight away or at all. This can be complicated by the person having a high pain tolerance, believing that it is not serious, it actually isn't serious or my personal favourite, “I didn't want to bother anyone at this hour.”

Now I am all for people being realistic when it comes to medical matters and injuries but I am reminded of a story shared in one of my classes.

Father came home from work one. You know the type of father. Hard worker, salt of the earth type, makes everything him self, does long hours… and never takes a “sickie.” The family are familiar with this and rarely say a word about it. However this one day father comes home, sits in his usual chair straight after walking in the door. Now that's not normal. Usually he changes clothes after having a shower. He is pale and complains of a headache. One of the family members reached for the phone and rang 000. Father immediately started complain about this but the family member continued to make the call. An ambulance arrived and despite initially protesting, father agreed to go to hospital.

The outcome was that he was suffering from bi-lateral strokes. In other words, he was having two, one on each side of his brain. And the family's clue? He never complained of being ill. For him to complain, something was obviously wrong and the family acted straight away.

The message here is that we should not immediately dismiss something if it is out of the ordinary. Nor should we hold out for a “more appropriate hour of the day.”

It is also important that if you are going to drive a family member to hospital, we should consider if this is the most appropriate thing to do. What happens if they get worse and you are on a road you are not familiar with? Would you be able to accurately describe where you are to the 000 call-taker?

A patient in the care of the Paramedic's is able to take advantage of the skills, training, equipment and medication should the situation get worse.

So, tell me. Do YOU know of someone who never complains of being ill?

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