I'm a Specialist Too!

I know it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the immense background and knowledge medical specialists have. It's the countless years of training, often backed up by countless years of experience. It's understandable that most specialists give the very confident impression that they know what they're on about. I've written before that I haven't received any medical training at all, so there's an awful lot I don't know about, in comparison. There's one very important thing, though, that only I bring to the party. Only I properly know about me!

Those specialists don't notice the amount I do about myself. Funnily enough, they're not around me as much as I'm around myself, so how could they? They don't know exactly how I've been feeling. They don't know about the causes and consequences I think I might be seeing.

The human body's an exceptionally complex piece of equipment. I've alluded to, but not written about (yet!) how complicated the brain is to properly understand. While somewhat less complicated, the rest of the human body is far from fully understood. So, whether I'm seeing them about my TBI or any other problem, there will always be the chance that there'll be something important my specialist won't understand. Of course, there's a very good chance I won't understand it either, but I do have one important edge. I know more about me than they do.

Given my important edge in that kind of knowledge, when I see a specialist I want to be treated with respect. I want to be treated as an equal because, when it comes down to it, I am a specialist too; a specialist in me! Medical treatment is an important factor in How to Recover, but it's a team game. It'll be better played if each member of the team understands the contributions they and the other members of the team can make!

Cheers,
Mike