Time For Review

Where to begin, I am not quite sure so I guess I will just dive in and see what happens. Well, it has been a little over a year since mom got on Hospice and needless to say, it has been quite a journey. My parents are very private so out of respect, I have to leave certain details out which makes it challenging when you’re attempting to tell a story. I also think about concerned family members inundating my mom with calls and questions that will cause nothing but anxiety and stress that she doesn’t need. My mom comes from a large family so it is just easier to tell those who I have permission from my mom to tell and at the right time, they will pass the word on to the rest of the family. With this being said, my mom has her good days and bad days and at times its hour by hour or minute by minute because things can change that quickly depending on how she is feeling. This month has been filled with incidents where we have had to call Hospice for assistance with unexpected events. Unfortunately, a couple of these incidents occurred when I was at work, but thankfully my dad was able to remain calm and call for assistance. During this month, my dad had an anxiety attack, which he had not had to this level before, which was concerning. It was something new to us and I immediately contacted his Physician who began the process to determine the best course of action to take to get assistance for my dad. After a painstaking 3 weeks of going back and forth with his Physician’s office to get the required tests needed to see if he qualified for any home health care and a couple of evaluations, we finally received the good news that he qualified for a Home Health program through his Physician’s office that will help alleviate the stress of him physically having to go to the Physician’s office every month and any other appointments that he needs. I cannot begin to explain how long I have struggled to get any assistance for my dad even before any of this happened and have often felt like I was hitting my head against a wall every time I asked for help. Finally, a door opened and now we begin this new journey with my dad to see how this makes a difference in him and his overall health.

In the midst of this, I also received news that the State Board of Dental Examiners has scheduled an informal settlement conference this month with the Dentist who worked on my mom last year in April. I had reported the oral surgeon who worked on my mom last year when she had a serious tooth infection and needed to have a couple of teeth extracted. The Oral Surgeon was unprofessional, rude, and physically rough with my mom during this unsuccessful procedure. As a result, it exacerbated the medical condition my mom was already dealing with and set my mom into a series of additional health issues we didn’t see coming. I had to wait until things calmed down before I could even begin to focus on the process of reporting this surgeon because this was unchartered territory, but I knew I had to do something and not let this individual get away with it. I submitted a complaint to the State Board of Dental Examiners and every three months I have been receiving notifications of the ongoing investigation. I honestly did not know if anything was going to come out of this until I received notice of this conference this past week. They have arranged to call me on the morning of the conference and I have the opportunity to provide a statement at the beginning. After providing my statement, I will be dismissed and I will not be advised of the panel’s recommendation until the final resolution of the complaint. I am just pleased that they addressed my complaint and that it will be brought up before this panel.

In the midst of this, I have managed to continue working part-time and I am looking to see what other opportunities there are to increase my income. I am limited since my primary focus is being my parent’s caregiver, but I know there are doors out there that are waiting to be opened in my favor. I have also been continually focusing on my health, which requires daily management of my disease and I have been working out consistently three times a week here at home. I have been concentrating primarily on strength training and I am looking forward to increasing the weights and improving my home gym equipment. Anything to improve my overall health and wellness, I am open to exploring. I do not want to become stagnant in my life and keep doing the same things expecting different results. I want to keep learning new things and improving my mind, body, and spirit. That takes focus, determination, perseverance, and avoiding unnecessary distractions. There is plenty of noise and chaos from situations and individuals that can trip me up, but I try to stay away from negativity and do my best to keep my focus in the right place which is on the Lord. I wake up every day thanking the Lord for allowing me to live another day and to give me the strength and wisdom to face whatever may come my way. In the midst of the unknown, God help me.