If you ever spend time at a Starbucks you will hear of an infinite variety of drinks ordered to the exact specifications of each customer.
“May I have decaf grande soy sugar free iced caramel macchiato?”
“A tall nonfat unsweetened green tea latte please.”
“I would like to order a venti mocha frappuccino with soy mocha drizzle, matcha powder, protein powder, caramel brûlée topping, strawberries, two bananas, caramel drizzle frappuccino chips and vanilla bean.”
I feel a bit like a Starbucks customer when I get my injection each week. The subcutaneous injection can be quite painful and leave a big bruise if the nurse does not administer it quite right. And what constitutes “quite right” varies from person to person. I imagine each person giving their own specific directions to the nurses.
“The secret is to leave a little air pocket in the needle.”
“Keep the skin flat and inject quickly.”
“Pinch the leg hard and inject really, really slowly.”
“Can you put the heating pad on the site first to warm it up and then inject the needle at an exact 90 degree angle and whistle Stairway to Heaven to distract me?”
In an earlier era when the medical professionals were more god-like, would we have dictated our own treatment in the same way that we order coffee or is this behaviour a sign of the times? On the one hand, the patients feel more empowered now to ask for what they need (and truly, when the nurses do it the ‘right’ way, I experience significantly less pain). On the other hand, do we sometimes just need to let the professionals get on with their job and not pester them with onerous demands to meet our every need (maybe the whistling is a bit out of line)?
I’ve been very proud of my increased ability to advocate for myself since getting sick. At the same time, I’m just one of thousands of patients who want individualized care in a financially stressed system. I realize I must balance my needs against those around … ” Hey, slow down with that needle!”
Sam
Ultra Sounds: My Creative Exploration of the Illness Experience 