Hélène’s husband asked the doctor to treat him not as a number but as a person, and since then they get along really well.
Transcript
The first doctor, in fact at first, my husband was not at ease with him; he didn’t really like him; thought he was too cold. And he went to him and spoke to him and said, “Look, I’m not patient #1235. I am a person; I am not a statistics. So, I would like you to treat me as a person.”
He said that?
But he said that very nicely […] and he said, “I’m sure you’re very good, but this is not what I need right now.” And you know what? Now they meet, they have their own signals that only them know and their own private jokes, and once in a blue moon I show up and just like 2 little kids really. But that too you have to learn to speak for… you have to be your own advocate, as the caregiver and as the patient.
And have you had generally great interactions as a caregiver too with healthcare professionals?
Yes, yes. They appreciate that I’m there. They know me by now anyways. They know I come in with my blue book. There has been times where, “Ah non, je n’ai pas mal,” and I’m looking at the doctor going [shaking my head], because it depends your angle—you learn where to sit in the room. And then they will ask some more questions by them or they will say stuff. But talk to me indirectly so that I will know what to do.
So you generally felt part of that scene?
Oh definitely, definitely. And a lot of them have given us their e-mail address so we can communicate directly that way. Others, it’s a phone number and we’re in communication right away. It’s amazing. It’s really amazing. And well, everybody’s been really, really incredible.
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