In Case You Get Hit by a Bus by Abby Schneiderman

Author:Abby Schneiderman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Published: 2020-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Your Personal Medical Journal

Talking about medical problems is rarely fun. People tend to downplay the bad stuff because they don’t want anyone to worry. How many times have you heard a variation of the phrases “I’ll get to the doctor when I have time” or “I’m doing everything they’re telling me to do” only to find out later neither is true? Medical problems combine many of our biggest fears: the possibility of a dire diagnosis, having to make extreme lifestyle changes to get our health back on track, and facing our own mortality.

Ideally, a person dealing with all these traumatic issues at once would be open and honest with the people they love. In reality, they often keep their health conditions a secret until it’s too late. On three different occasions, one of our coworkers found out about surgeries his parents had after the fact. (They said they didn’t want to worry him or his siblings, but it had the opposite effect.) If you’re facing an illness, it’s important to ask for help, no matter how hard that is. If you’re tasked with helping someone else face an uphill battle, try your best to be as supportive and delicate as possible. These might be the last few years, months, or days you have with someone you love.

But since we’re here to help you get your life organized, forget about everyone else for a moment. The best way to keep track of your own pressing or personal medical issues—and provide a definitive record for those who might need it—is with a Personal Medical Journal.

Unlike medical records, which are cold, clinical, and filled with lots of jargon, this is a more casual and realistic way to keep others in your life apprised of your health. Like the way we helped you understand how to create a Home Operating System (see here), it’s quite simple. But instead of walking around the rooms of your home and making notes, you’ll be taking a tour of your body.

Start by listing existing or current conditions. Anything that you manage on a regular basis, or that involves treatments, should rise to the top. Any low-maintenance chronic condition that simply flares up from time to time sinks to the bottom. Think of each issue as an item you’re writing on an index card and then pinning to a 3D rendering of your body. An example of the template can be found on the next page.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.