There is more to our illness story

We don't read often enough about physicians who listen and transform patients lives through narrative competence, which only improves clinical effectiveness.  When the patient's narrative is weaved into that typical clinical office visit, what unfolds is a person more than an illness: A richer more complex history that illuminates the cause rather than symptom. 

Rarely are we given the chance to celebrate our community physicians who have provided such a patient experience; that left us more complete than when we walked in and unraveled like a spool of yarn. This is my reason for this blog--a voice to share your illness narrative and mine. 

Illness and how it is cared for or, for that matter, approached by medicine cannot be understood by simply placing it into a category and stamping it with a defined disease because these are its symptoms.  No, that is unacceptable.  We are not defined by our illness, we need to be understood for the difficulties this dis-ease has rendered and unearth causality, context, and emotions that bridge us to our doctor as patient.   This empathic approach garners stories, which often uncovers misunderstood and, possibly worse, misdiagnosed stories. 

As a patient, I’ve been given numerous diagnosis’ and thought I would spend the rest of my life in footwear braces.  My podiatric surgeon, Dr. Joshua Bernard did something proactive and recently performed two reconstructive foot surgeries,  more important, with the first visit he listened to me:  A complex series of events robbed me of my ability to walk.  I’m still healing from both surgeries and my surgeon has been available to me via phone or email every “step” of the way.  But the narrative quality of his care has already healed me beyond words.