Healthy Deed of the Day #18: Make Time for Your Doctor's Appointments

It's been awhile, but it's time for a Healthy Deed of the Day. Last year, I was reminded that my path to successfully managing life with a chronic illness isn't only paved with big, life-altering decisions. It's also littered with itty bitty daily choices that keep my symptoms at bay. I decided to start sharing those baby steps as Healthy Deeds of the Day (HDOTD). Some choices are so minor, they may seem insignificant. But in my experience,  every decision you make to live well, no matter how small, counts! 

Healthy Deed of the Day #18: 

As a caregiver for my dad who has terminal brain cancer,  I've found it practically impossible to break away for my own doctor's appointments. Even though we have help for my dad almost around the clock - responsibility, schedule, and even guilt make it difficult to leave.  My ideal time slot for doctors' appointments is between 10a-12p, which coincides with just about everything related to my dad:  the 3-hr gap when we have no aides, my dad's meal schedule with which he needs max assist, his therapy appointments for which I prefer to be present, his best hours of the day, etc. 

That said, I knew I needed to make time. I had moved every appointment (a total of 5) at least twice in the past 3 months, so it was time to prioritize and choose one (or two) that needed to happen. 

So I did it. I picked what I felt was the most important appointment,  and moved therapies, rescheduled aides, and mapped out meals to accommodate it. I even shifted my appointment time to make it work better with all of the above, but not too late so my nap would be compromised.  (Of course, having done all this, I knew why I'd kept postponing! ) 

But I'm glad I did. I knew I needed a prescription refill for one of my kidney medications, but a few days before my appointment,  that very drug was recalled. I definitely needed to know how to proceed, and it would have been complicated over the phone.  In addition,  I found out my doctor was taking a 3-week vacation,  and I woud have missed him, had I waited or postponed again. 

Healthy Deed o' the Day prevails again!