ONWARD ~ and ~ UPWARD Judith Florian, R.N.

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Issues concerning Disabilities, Home Health Care, Sexual Abuse of Children, and Advocacy.

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Physical, Emotional, Psychological (Mental)

DISABILITIES and ILLNESSES

Ever Onward...Ever Upward

 by Judith Ann Florian

November 2, 2005  Difficulty adjusting and adapting to change....

"Change is inevitable - especially in Home Care!" - Judith Florian

 There are times it seems that the medical and nursing "model," those ideal plans that are supposed to make people well, are actually the most crazy and crazy-making for patients.  Ideals of treating the patient in a holistic manner become simply ideas that have become stretched to transparency, with rips and gaping holes forming in the thinning shield around patients.  

 When ill, rest and peace are often the last remaining comforts one has to retreat into, to gather ones remaining strengths for the next fight for life and fight towards living.  The simple normal things of daily life become just ~ hard ~ when ill.  If you think about times when you have a bad flu, and imagine if you had that same flu every day, you'll have a small idea of how difficult it is for a chronically ill person to manage normal daily life.  There is limited energy, limited reserves.  The smallest problems add to an ever-decreasing ability to cope with more and more problems.  Yet..... doctors, nurses, aides and caretakers still expect the ill person to manage everything in normal life, plus the added problems of illness, and to do all of that ------ gracefully!

 The normal reactions of frustration, anger, and depression are labeled as ab-normal!  One more un-healthy thing that patients must deal with -  being labeled as abnormal.  Yet, these are all very normal reactions, and indeed, are healthy reactions!  If a person did NOT react to illness by having negative and uncomfortable feelings, then, unfortunately I must notify you that the patient must already be dead!  

 To be ALIVE means that humans REACT to situations they experience, whether those that bring joy, or sorrow!  So WHY are the negative emotions brought about by illness labeled as abnormal?  And something to be medicated or to be ashamed of feeling?  

 Every patient who gets smacked down with a life-altering illness feels frustrated at some point or another.  I use the words "smacked down" deliberately, because indeed it feels like you've been smacked and pushed downward and away from any goals you might have had, and the fight is always back "up" towards so-called "normal life."  

 A patient may still want (and wish) to do for themselves, but their body betrays them, interferes with what the person wants to do, and in fact is often the only obstacle to a person doing what they want to do!  The former track runner who loses a leg in an auto accident will be frustrated.  The person will be frustrated whose back goes into severe spasms when all they wish to do is simply walk from one room to another.  A person with M.S. (Multiple Sclerosis) will become frustrated as their body shows more and more symptoms.  When your own body is the obstacle, what else would a person feel other than frustration, anger and depression?  Add in on top of that, the endless obstacles society creates (mostly from lack of awareness of what an ill or disabled person really needs), and what emotions would society expect the person to have?!

EVER ONWARD...EVER UPWARD

The salmon start a long trek back up the river to spawn.

It's instinct - there is no other choice - they MUST swim UP.

They must fight against currents with other fish, and go around obstacles in the river.

Fighting hard against the rushing water against them,

water that's rushing so hard and so fast in the opposite direction,

that it must feel like a concrete wall to the insignificant fish,

fighting against it, to get past it, through it.

The fish will fight on their journey.....ever onward...ever upward....

            Caregivers need to understand that all three emotions are normal.  And they need to understand that these are not directed at them as persons, but it is directed at the medical condition and the new limitations the person faces.   The very first thing a caregiver MUST do is simply, very simply, understand that the emotions are normal - very normal.  

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Disabilities overview

Disabilities...... Home Health Care...... Sexual Abuse of Children...... Advocacy......... Jump to: Top of Page      If you have corrections to the content of this site or if you find broken links, please email me. The title "Onward ~ and ~ Upward" is a "motto" I used as a teenager and young adult --- then forgot about for a number of years.  I feel it is a fitting motto to strive for and a fitting title for the topics of this website.   (c) Judith Ann Florian 159 E. Main St. Girard, Ohio 44420 Disclaimer: This website is intended to convey information and discussion ONLY, on a variety of topics, and reflects the views of this author and submitters to this website.  The information provided on this website is not intended as a substitute for a medical opinion or diagnosis.  If you are suffering from an illness, injury, pain or other symptoms, please seek help and diagnosis from a medical professional.  If you are feeling suicidal or are thinking of harming yourself, in any way or by any means, call your therapist, your local 911, your local police department or other law enforcement, your local hospital emergency room, and your local crisis numbers. The webmaster of this site will not reply to emails from any person in a crisis situation. Copyright Notice - Information provided is for personal use only and may not be used on any other website.  All graphics and content on this web site are under copyright.  No portion may be reproduced, in part or in whole.  Contact the webmaster for information about publication rights.  © 2005-present, Judith Florian, Copyright - All rights reserved. Credit: Visit "The Art of Penny Parker" for elegant backgrounds and images.   This page was last updated on Saturday, April 22, 2006 18:49