This month’s cover story is both about lupus, which is not uncommon but is not well understood, and about a side trip into Steroid Induced Psychosis, which is very uncommon but which can affect anyone taking even a dose pack of prednisone, so worth sharing. More than that, it is meant as a guide to surviving the medical maw – dropped from daily life into the healthcare system – from both the doctor’s point of view as he leads you, often shell-shocked, from diagnosis through plan and treatment; and from the patient point of view of how be to your own advocate for care, how not to get lost in a very complex system, and how to put your health first. There are resources available to make sure you, as the patient, are the focus of the services provided.
Dr. Charles Sanders, a physician and friend, sums it up this way: “The sole reason the medical profession exists is to put the patient’s needs first.” Caught in a health crisis, it is easy to lose sight of the goal: restoring you to the best physical and mental health possible.
My hope is by sharing this personal journey as a “happier ever after” guidebook, it might ease a future journey for you or your family member should you too drop find yourself dropped into the medical maw. – Angelique Gammon
