Many of us make decisions based on facts. Facts are good, they are grounded in some form of reality and yet there is a force greater than the physical reality that can help us make better decisions…our intuition. How often do you pay attention to your gut feeling? Do you use your intuition when it comes to medical care or is that something that only factual knowledge is your guide?
I’ve learned some valuable lessons about intuition and medical care over the past couple of months. I have four animals and three of the four are seeing specialists. Yes that’s right I have two that are seeing the Dermatologist/Allergist and one who recently had double ACL surgery. During each doctor’s visit I was very in tune with my intuition and these are my findings.
My cat, Zedd, went to see the dermatologist. Upon our first visit he didn’t ever touch the animal. He stood a good four feet away and made assumptions about what’s causing the problem. I didn’t know that vets were trained in mental telepathy, I must have missed that on the syllabus. Following the appointment I went back to my cat’s regular vet and told her my experience and how unhappy I was…it just didn’t feel right. Needless to say I changed providers and had my voice heard about the lackluster performance of the doctor. How can you treat without making a connection.
My dog, Bella, had pain and after a couple of consults with the internist and the neurologist the diagnosis was that it was her knees. My consult with the surgeon was amazing. He took me step by step through the surgery. He had models of what he was going to do and the metal plates he would implant in her knees. He showed me the digital x-rays so I could see the damage and super-imposed a diagram about how the knee is supposed to look. I left the exam feeling confident that Bella would be well cared for and that the doctor was as concerned about her as me. On the day of the surgery he called exactly when he said he’d call, his follow-up was amazing.
Now take this information and think about your last consult. Did you feel confident in the doctor? Did you feel like an individual or were you just one more person with the same diagnosis as 100 other patients in the practice? What is your gut telling you about the relationship your establishing with the doctor? These are all important questions because how you feel about the connection will impact your treatment and the outcome of your treatment. If you walk around always feeling uneasy or leery of the decisions how will you put all your own energy toward getting well?
Do you have any stories about how your intuition impacted your medical care? Let’s share and create community … and thanks for hanging with me on the stories about my pets.
Pilgrim Pathway/Surviving Strong 