My Hard Road to Acceptance
My breakdown
Each morning I start the day with a cup of coffee, the sunrise and my beloved sheep dog Mollie. It was this exact scene, that the young nurse told me to envisage when I was sitting in that four bed-bay room with cold floors and even colder liquidised meals following a second admission for poorly controlled diverticulitis.
Admittedly, it was my own fault that got me here – a lifetime of drinking, unhealthy diet choices, smoking and even worse lifestyle choices – you name it. Not listening to the medical professionals the first time round refusing to adhere to my medications because it was just too damn complicated without medication packs, or the lifestyle changes I had committed to during that first admission.
The abdominal pain become unbearable, not to mention I looked like I was pregnant, and when I realised I couldn’t just wish it away, I found myself in that familiar emergency department with the doctor consenting me for emergency surgery to halt the bleeding, and of another course of antibiotics.
Discharge
A week-long admission later, the most difficult transition for me was returning home and trying to adapt the recommendations. I know they were trying to their best. But you’ve got nurses, doctors and dieticians all telling you to do this and that. I just get overwhelmed.
And with just myself and my dog Mollie, it’s easy to fall into the old habits of take-away and beers. On discharge, I think the nurse identified that I was feeling quite overwhelmed, so decided to help me. Connected with the hospital who could support me on discharge sounded like a good idea to me.
Recommendations
Following my discharge, I met with the nurses and a young dietitian Kate at the local community health centre. I appreciated Kate’s stern assertion to me, that if I didn’t change my ways, I would be staring down the barrel of frequent hospitalisations, uncontrolled loss of weight and potentially other life threating health consequences, so this diverticulitis was going to be something I had to have control over. Together, we recognised that alongside meal preparation, remembering to take my medications and these newly recommended supplements was the toughest thing as it wasn’t part of my regular routine. Probably part of the reason I went wrong the first time.
SimpleDose
As a Webster Pack alternative, SimpleDose has completely changed the way I manage my life with prepackaged medications. It’s a set and forget online pharmacy solution. I like the way the sachets already come pre-prepared, so I don’t confuse myself about what I have or have forgotten to take, and I like that as someone who doesn’t drive, my medications and supplements come to me and I don’t even have to lift a finger. With my online pharmacy SimpleDose, and my good friend Kate, I have taken control of my own health and I have learnt that hard way that I have to accept I will be living with this chronic illness. But it doesn’t have to rule my life – I can still enjoy my cup of coffee with Mollie, listen to the horse races, and appreciate that I can hopefully continue to do this for a few more years to come yet.