My Medical Fairy Godmother
The upside to chronic illness: a lot of couch time equals a lot of movies watched. Now if you have ever seen the movie "Cinderella" you know all about fairy godmothers, in fact, when you were younger you probably hoped you'd get your own one day.
I have come to realise that we all eventually get a fairy godmother, just maybe not the cute little old lady with wings and the wand that we were expecting.
In the chronic health community, we often go years of being sick and shuffling from doctor to doctor only to receive speculation and all too often misdiagnosis. Every so often, if you’re lucky, you find a doctor who looks at you as a big picture and makes it clear they not only believe you but they are going to do everything in their power to help you.
This moment is an amazing feeling and one that I had the absolute pleasure of experiencing.
This doctor spent time getting to know my whole situation, not just the issue I was coming in for. We spoke for an hour! At the end, he laid out the framework for what will undoubtedly be a difficult and uncomfortable journey but he mapped it all out with a better, healthier life, as the end goal. What I need to do and what he needs to do and what we will do together to start being able to handle some of my more serious health issues. Better yet if that plan doesn't work out, he came up with steps what we will do then too!
I realised today that Cinderella's fairy godmother did not wave her wand and make her rich and the prince fall in love with her. No, the Fairy Godmother gave her a small window of time and the tools to go out and change her own destiny.
This doctor gave me a small window of his time, and the tools I need to help me create a better healthier life for myself.
And that my friends, is how I came to find out fairy godmothers don't always have wings & wands.
Sometimes they have lab coats and stethoscopes.
Never stop searching for members of your healthcare team that make you feel empowered and that make you feel like they are ready to fight for you.
And always remember to be thankful because there's a little bit of fairy godmother in your parents, your spouse, your friends, and everyone who supports you on your journey to your happy, healthy fairy tale ending.
Have you come across your own medical fairy godmother? Tell us!