I've never been in favor of swinging around lawsuits or legal threats like weapons, in fact the older I get and the more I see people do that, the more disgusted I become over the process. But, with that said, I can SEE how they happen. Some are for stupid reasons; others perhaps filed out of malice or greed; and then I'm betting there are the ones which are born out of frustration. The process of running into a wall and finding there is no one listening to you doesn't get easier, and I don't find the incidents less insulting the more they happen. Being dismissively waved off when speaking about critical loss of kidney function from two years ago, and concerns over a few similarities with now, doesn't sit well with me, and yet I'm not going to start looking for an attorney because that's just plain ridiculous - just as ridiculous as the concept that a business would snicker at statements made by a customer, or interrupt them in mid-conversation. If those are principles by which any organization believes offers quality care to their clients that is a flawed model indeed - and yet we just paid for the experience. Again.
This situation and illness might not be anything. It may not have accurately reflected the same attributes of previous circumstances, and it could well be completely blown out of proportion in seriousness. But when a person who rarely appears down is virtually flattened, and when one day turns into three and finally we get in the car to go and present a series of symptoms which by now are not just a passing occurrence, I want to be treated like a person, dammit. That's not what we got and while it's happened to me more, knowing that HIS only illnesses have been acute, emergency situations translates into feeling cheated there was not more credibility given today. A health care "professional" just completely dismissed everything we said, and while I may be over-reacting this could also be the time she screwed up and ignored the warning signs. We are people with feelings and emotions and today, more than last week at the hardware store and with more urgency than while straightening out the cable bill online, I felt that THIS incident mattered that we would be heard. We weren't.
The irony of this image.....it's a poster than hangs in the office we just visited. It's on THEIR WALL. I took a photo of it last time I was there, because I thought it depicts a critical element of communication that is so often overlooked!
