by Stephanie Dodge
As a wound care nurse for a major hospital in south Florida, I admit, I see some of the worst patients that are admitted. Not only do they have wounds, but they have a laundry list of co-morbities.
Co-morbities: Two or more coexisting medical conditions or disease processes that are additional to an initial diagnosis.
Everyday I come into work and determine which patients I will see that day. Criteria include a low score on an “at risk scale,” present on admission wounds, patients who have been in the hospital for 5 or more days, and all intensive care unit patients. So usually about 40-60 patients in the 400 bed facility.
One day I was consulted to see a patient, aged 36, for wounds. This got me thinking, “What is a 36-year-old doing with wounds?”
It turns out this patient had severe diabetic wounds and a co-morbidity of vascular disease. 36 years old!!!!
My point is, why? Why do people let their health status deteriorate for so long and not make a change? Your health is all you have! If you don’t take care if yourself and take responsibility for YOUR body…who will?
When I got back to my office, I counted how many patients in the hospital that day were 65 and under. The results may be surprising to some of you that do not work in the healthcare system. This particular day the census was 386, out of those, 180 patients were 65 or under. That’s 46%. In the intensive care unit, 19 out of 41 patients were 65 and under. To me, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
So why are we becoming so unhealthy? Diabetes is a huge problem, and the majority of times (not in the case of type 1) can be cured by diet and exercise, that’s it! No magic pill, just dedication to a healthy diet and exercise.
Someone asked me the other day (as a nurse you get asked medical questions all the time) what pill should I take for my diabetes? I responded, “Instead of taking a pill, try working out at home or in a gym for a couple months and eat a clean diet. Then go for your follow-up visit and see what the doctor suggests then.” (All of this done under a doctor’s care of course.)
Maybe that’s what’s wrong with the system we currently have in place. Maybe a doctor should prescribe a gym membership and clean diet for 30 days, and have the patient come back and re-evaluate. I wonder how many patients would avoid continuing in their downward spiral that is their state of health.
I know this blog post is questioning a lot more than answering, but I hope you take away more questions as well. Ask your family members to do the same. Maybe all they need is someone backing them up in a healthier lifestyle to make the change. We can be one another’s motivating force for a healthier and longer life. Just like Coach Dolce inspires us and motivates us, we owe it to our family and friends to do the same.
Stephanie is a longtime MyDolceDiet.com member, nurse, and mother of two who follows the The Dolce Diet: Living Lean lifestyle.
