Nietzche ‘He who has the why to live can bear almost any how’

Traumatic brain injury 1993.

Medical history in detail and to date by Michelle Clarke.  Why such detail about my own personal health? Traumatic brain injury TBI is an unknown. It is about the Brain. Today January 15th 2017 my fear of dementia advancing to Alzheimers is outlined and thanks to the aspect of the internet that is about information and value content, I make this available to readers who may be interested.  We know about what the computer can account for and data analysis but this is a little bit like a patient’s attempt to keep a log of what it is they encounter as distinct to what is gathered on the HSE computer records especially when you have lived in the UK and in Zimbabwe, Africa.

July 2017 update:  Alzheimers/dementia is displaced as my most dreaded fear.  Cancer is the next phase on the ever ending cycle of health related conditions over a period of 20 years.

The BreastCheck http://www.breastcheck.ie/content/contact_us mammogram letter has resulted in cancer diagnosis and an operation in August 2017.  Today I met with the Anesthetist to review medications and plan for operation.  I cannot begin to say how lucky I am because it is so easy to ignore these appointments for screening and in my case to forget about them.  This is a letter I wrote to several people the day I met with the Surgeon to be told about the cancer.

Michelle Clarke – a call back within days to BreastCheck St Vincent’s Hospital yesterday.

All I can say is if only the rest of the HSE could adopt the model of medicine, care, hospitality, kindness of your BreastCheck service at St Vincents University Hospital, many lives would be saved and there would be far better patient outcomes. Tilda http://tilda.tcd.ie/publications/reports/ is the research arm based at Trinity College Dublin that provides the department similar to BreastCheck and it too works with great interaction, efficiency and most importantly makes older people realise that all does not rest with the professionals, the person has to engage with the professionals and take some responsibility in relation to their health outcomes and if this happens, health has a future in this country.

My partner met Mr Crown Oncologist at the supermarket the other day. He spoke of BreastCheck being a very successful programme with many lives saved. I met Mr Gerraghty yesterday having interacted with many staff from radiology to ultrasound to those who bravely gave me the needle biopsy. At every stage there was someone to explain and because of TBI and memory issues I was treated with exceptional diligence. I was even offered a second cup of coffee. Notes and leaflets were given to me.

Only one or maybe two suggestions: I note you are on Facebook. Twitter is also an excellent means of communication. Secondly: when we left the clinic there was man with a loudspeaker on the other side of the road. We decided to talk to the man, elderly for his endeavours, but dedicated to making his point. BreastCheck works so very well because when you get the letter about your appointment, you don’t have to reply, you have to just attend. This man never realised that his wife had received 5 letters and most likely fear meant she did not attend the clinic on any of the occasions. She got a pain in her back but it was too late – secondaries had set in and she died. He is just trying to say to the Clinic please find a way of encouraging women to attend, and if someone does not turn up for say two appointments, make contact in someway with a family member or the GP.

Again I say thank you.

I include two people on this: Tilda – because it is making massive inroads into making people aware and not afraid about their health; Trinity Neuroscience http://www.tcd.ie/Neuroscience/neil/people/personnel/s-brennan.php also and the person is Sabina Brennan. Dementia is reaching crisis levels as we age now and live longer. Memory deficits mean a very rigid routine; this makes it most probable that health checks are the bottom of the list and so often forgotten about.

Again thank you so much for returning faith in certain departments of the health service that others could most definitely learn from. Silos cause harm and great inefficiencies.

Michelle Clarke

Source: Nietzche ‘He who has the why to live can bear almost any how’ Traumatic brain injury 1993. Medical history in detail and to date by Michelle Clarke