If you plan on getting older, plan on getting healthy. Today.

In the last 2 years, I have been daily reminded of the blessing of what seems like basic health.

What a blessing it is to move my body.

What a blessing it is to get up and choose what I eat.

What a blessing it is to think and speak when I want to.

What a blessing it is to ask my limbs to move, and then follow the command.

Strokes are detrimental. And watching what my dad has gone through makes me thankful for the little things.

However, his most recent hospitalization was a harsh reminder that in order to maintain these blessings, I must prevent a reliance on the healthcare system.

Little care was given to the fact that my dad cannot do anything for himself during his time in the hospital. My family and I were advocating, fighting for his well-being multiple times a day.

Thankfully he is home and stable.

The real kicker was his discharge process at the end. He was given the green light to go home around 3 in the afternoon. All we had to do now was wait on AMR (a transport company to take him from the hospital to his home via a stretcher).

Originally we were told they would be arriving at 5:30. By 9 PM there was still no transport. I advocated for my dad, asking the hospital if it was safe to be sending someone home this late?

Was it possible to keep him safe and discharge him home closer to the morning?

They refused.

Why was there such a delay in the arrival of the necessary transport?

The answers were the same as prior complaints.

His care, his transport, got pushed back due to other patients who needed it more. My dad’s well-being was not a priority.

I then was fighting for them to keep him until closer to a normal morning hour. He is in need of caregivers. It was not a situation of just dropping him off - planning and care needed to be in place.

“We aren’t able to tell the transport service ‘no’ once they get here.”

“But you can’t tell me when they’ll get there?”

“That’s correct.”

So we were told to wait.

At the end of the day, the transport service arrived at the hospital around 11 PM and my dad was delivered home at midnight.

I’m thankful he his home. I’m thankful he is safe. I cannot, however, help but wonder, what happens to patients who don’t have family calling endlessly, advocating for them?

It happens all the time.

So what are we to do? Take action today for yourself. Prevent your dependence on a system that is lacking.

How?

Are you able to move your body?

Are you able to get up and choose what you eat?  

Are you able to think and speak when you want to?  

Are you able to ask your limbs to move, and then follow the command?  

If you answered yes, then we don’t really have an excuse. We all are aging. And the choices we make today, can help us in the future.

We all are prone to stress, limitations, but are you choosing wisely? Or are you becoming relaxed in your decisions?

Being healthy is HARD work. But it is possible with the proper approach.

It is possible to manage stress, to be healthy, and to live a healthy life as you age. It’s the power of preventative medicine.  

Take care of yourself today.

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