As a Pharmacist, I am passionate about being a patient advocate.
I love empowering patients and family to become their own advocate and helping them to find their voice. By learning how to ask questions and talk with your Doctor, you become part of the team and help to implement what we call shared decision making.
One of the first steps in becoming your own advocate is becoming organized.
Healthcare is very complex and has so many moving pieces. You have appointments to navigate, medications to take, lifestyle changes to implement and all this while keeping a positive, yet determined outlook. With everything going on, this can be quite challenging!
Build yourself what I call a Battle Binder
Healthcare and some of the difficulties that come with it can be a battle. So let's look at it that way and think in terms of it being a battle. Let's prepare our Battle Plan by putting together and creating a Battle Binder. Everyone in our communities are going to want to know how they can help. The Battle Binder then helps others in our village (family & friends) know how they can help and participate in your Battle.
I created a Breast Cancer Battle Binder for my sister.
When my sister was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, I became focussed on helping her. My sister does not live near me. There were times such as with her mastectomy that I traveled to be with her but most of the time I would be several hours away in another state. So I was faced with the challenge of finding what things I could do to help her remotely. My first course of action was to help build her a Battle Binder so that everything could be organized.
We put her Battle Plan together to arm her and give her the tools to beat Cancer. I started creating medication schedules and contact lists. I put a lot of time and effort into these. I decided that others may find these helpful too. I decided to make these available to you as well. I created a Battle Binder for both Breast Cancer but also other Cancers as well.
Build a Battle Binder for your loved ones.
Then I remembered when I was helping my Mom I had made something similar. My Mom was a strong independent woman, so when she was diagnosed with Parkinson's and then later when dementia started to set in, it was devastating. But we did what any family would do. We instantly came to her aid and put a plan together. We made a binder to help organize and navigate the road ahead. I have re-created that now so that others will have access to that as well.
I created other Battle Binders...
I then decided to make a Battle Binder for other diseases as well. I have created one for Diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes and an all encompassing Healthcare Battle Binder that includes Diabetes, Hypertension and Heart Failure.
These Digital Templates for the Battle Binders can be found https://thehumblerxmom.etsy.com
I created several digital templates to give you the ability to uniquely customize it to you and your situation. When it comes to health there are many things that go into success. One is organization and knowledge. I have tried to create my templates from the view point of a Pharmacist and what I think is vital to include. Thoughts, questions and tips that I hope will make your journey easier. Once purchased you will receive a link so you can customize and specialize them to fit you individually. Edits are easy and I have included directions.
**Please take note, my views are my own and are not associated or representative of my employer(s). This website and its associated platforms are for education purposes only and not medical advice. (If one wants to establish a relationship in which individual circumstances can be evaluated please send a message)
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