fjeldstrom

Anonymous
May 28, 2008 at 5:08 am

I hope I am posting this right.

It is terrible that the physio. people are shorting you on your time and PT.

May I suggest something that might work but sounds crazy?

I’m retired, medical, and an admitted softy, but even a hardened PT can be
“softened” up.

Could I talk you into crying? Really. When one of those PT guys answers your sad question (make it really sound sad), I want you to put your knuckles to your eyes and make a whimpering sound. Real tears are a bonus but not required.

Hey, it worked with me being the caregiver as well as receiver.

Look at it this way. Why the heck should YOU suffer from someone else’s rude and inhumane behavior? If you can’t think of it as helping yourself, think of how many other weaker patients you may be helping by bringing these troglodites down to the level of humiliation they deserve.

If they are ignoring you, it is because they feel they can get away with it. No, I am not blaming the victim, I am just saying that some of the medical folks I dealt with knew they could short some patients and not others. The “not others” were either forceful, or rich, or cute, or, most powerfully–able to cry on cue.

If a PT or doctor or RN thinks you are going to cry, it can be one of the most motivating actions possible. Being mean brings out their hackles. Crying just makes them ashamed (and one told me it reminded him of what his real job was all about–he couldn’t sleep all night til coming back to work the next day and making up for forgeting why he studied med. in the first place).

Just a suggestion. I’m really not nuts.