HEALTH ADVICE STARTS WITH TRUSTING THE SOURCE

When health advice comes from questionable characters, is it really advice to follow?

It’s not health advice when it comes from people with agendas, people courting voters, or people seeking some kind of personal affirmation.

If Reverend Bob decides Sunday is the day to go off on the congregation about covid masks, covid vaccines, and the freedoms being trampled by both, who is he serving?

Governor I Don’t Care in Florida sees his state take the lead in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations, does he take appropriate action?

Who is he serving?

What’s it take to be a trusted source for health advice?

Let’s start with someone you know. Or me, to keep things simple. You need health advice, right? Who doesn’t?

I’ve lived with good health for the most part, and like you, overcome a few health obstacles.

From broken bones, including one collar bone broken twice, a couple of fingers, to injuries like sprains and dislocations and separations, to cancer, I’ve rebounded nicely.

Along with chronic issues that need work, like a bone on bone hip, a shoulder pop, and an unquenched desire for improved fitness, I meet every day as a health challenge.

To broaden my health authority, I served as the primary caregiver for a man with off the scale Parkinson’s Disease, cared for an aging-at-home woman, and married a naturopathic doctor.

Not to leave anything out, I also raised two children who I admire as adults.

For balance, I’ve been around for the final days of parents, in-laws, and pets. That’s how it is with family people.

Army Medic Health Advice

This writer is a former Army Medic.

Back then it was just me, an ambulance, and a partner and a patient in the back.

That’s where I learned the importance of compassion and empathy. People getting transported in an ambulance with the lights and siren going know one thing for certain: They are going to die.

It was important to talk them down from their fears. And I did, just don’t ask me how. After all, who doesn’t need a twenty year old strapper telling them, “Everything is going to be fine.”

What did I know about “fine?” Not much, but enough to satisfy my captive audience with heart problems.

The trick was listening. Were they ramping up anxiety and fear? Giving up and sinking lower? I made the adjustments.

First off, I didn’t want anyone dying in my ambulance. If I could get them to the hospital without the screaming and thrashing, I felt better.

Patient care came in handy during a stint as a nurse’s assistant on a surgical recovery ward. People coming out of anesthesia are not the same as they were going in, but they recover with the right help.

Health Talk Update

Just last night I was doing a health research interview with a man who had had five knee injuries before their junior year of high school. Then surgery.

The man had a procedure called a Tibular Tubical Transfer that moved the tibia process 12mm and anchored with two screws. He said he could feel the screws through his skin.

This was someone who grew up as one of the fastest kids in school, proving not everyone is built for speed. I was reminded of him while watching the Olympics 100 meter races. Those guys are built for speed and looked like body builders with wrestlers’ necks.

The rest of us watch in amazement while they burn down the track in under ten seconds.

While health advice is not a spectator sport, some try and make it so.

Understanding Suffering From The Other Side

As a home caregiver I saw my father in law suffer every day. He needed help with the daily activities of life, like getting out of bed, getting cleaned up, and getting dressed for breakfast.

I ran a tight ship with protocols like getting dressed before meals. He and I made it a ritual.

“Tough night?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to go on living like this?”

“No.”

“Well, no one is dying today, buddy, and you’ve got a wife out there who is looking forward to spending time with you. So keep that in mind. Don’t be a bad date. Let’s get our shit together and have the best day today. We can do that, can’t we?”

“Yes.”

“You’re damn right. Let’s go.”

My mother in law watched her husband do the slide of life. I worked to shield her from the suffering. Then she did the slide and slipped away a few years later.

When it was my turn to go through cancer radiation and chemo, I worked to shield my wife from the suffering. It wasn’t easy, but like the people in the back of my Army ambulance who knew they were going to die, I wanted to keep calm about my impending doom.

Turns out news of my death was premature, and here I am today.

Covid Mask And Vaccine Authority On The Job

The above was the wind up for this pitch: Get vaccinated against covid and wear a mask.

Did that sound right? No? How about this then:

GET A COVID VACCINE AND KEEP WEARING A MASK INDOORS.

Better? Good.

Unvaccinated, unmasked, individuals are working through a few things. They may have underlying health conditions, they may have had bad outcomes from other medical experiences, or they are acting out on health advice from bad actors.

Out of the three listed, the last one is the biggest problem.

Good people with common sense leave it at the door when they enter a house of worship run by a social engineering kook testing his persuasive powers.

Following bad health advice all the way to the ICU means nothing to them. They may even be vaccinated while they rail against the vaccine to their gathering. These people are not doing God’s Work, or any other kind of work outside of fear mongering and doubts.

Add governors, representatives, and senators to the mix of numbnuts leading the covid death march and you get health advice relegated to the sort of ignorance that recommends treating the virus with bleach and bight lights.

Remember Health Advice From That Guy?

The one transported one night to a local hospital to receive advanced treatment while he still refuses to convey reality to his cult following?

My personal powers of observation call bullshit on intentionally misleading health advice. Do we need some glad-hander telling us their opinions on better health?

Stand up to misinformation and lies with honesty and understanding. Don’t be a loser, or let some loser guide you, and find out too late what you should have done.

Do this instead: Get vaccinated and wear a mask indoors.

No, I’m not a doctor or politician, but I do have a few health advice bonafides to back this request up.

And we all have 2020 for reminders, as if we need one. Do we?

We do.