Category: life

The Pros and Cons of Traveling Cross Country on Amtrak

On By asocialvisionaryIn arts and culture, family, life, travel, traveler, Uncategorized2 Comments

 

Two years ago I decided I wanted a new experience so I decided to take Amtrak from Erie, Pa to Denver, Co. My son and his family live in Colorado and I could have flown but the idea of taking a train cross country sounded exciting.

We left Erie, Pa at 1:50 am and arrived at Union Station in Chicago, Il at approximately 9:45 am. I was so happy to get off the train from Erie. When you’ve never ridden on a train long distance the bumps and what seems like jumps can feel a bit alarming, especially when you can’t see outside because it’s dark. I also rode coach but I was lucky to have 2 seats to myself the entire trip to Chicago. When I walked outside, this was my view- A photo of Union Station.

I had a 6-hour layover in Chicago, which was relaxing. Union Station is quite large and has quite a few restaurants along with shops on the top floor. It was also a very nice day, the temps were in the low 70’s when I walked outside.  At 3 pm it was time to board my next train- The California Zephyr which is a double decker train. Here is a photo of the observation car, which was a great place to see the many wheat and corn fields we passed along the way! Did I mention we passed corn fields? All kidding aside, it was a great place to read, listen to your music and meet others. I met so many interesting people on the train. We were also warned when leaving Union Station that we would feel the train begin to sway. I thought they meant it would ONLY sway when leaving. Because the train is a double decker it swayed the entire time. I think I was sea sick (excuse me, I meant I felt motion sickness) for almost an hour until my body acclimated.

We did not stop often and most of our stops with regards to scenery were absent. However, when we had half hour break in Burlington I snapped this photo.

I believe it was 95 degrees outside on this particular day in April. During breaks, it’s easy to meet more people. I met one man and we were talking about trains versus planes. He was a businessman and I asked him why he didn’t fly anymore? He confided in me that he had not flown since 1979. He was waiting to board a DC-10 and took a bump back allowing another passenger to board. That flight crashed on take off and there were no survivors. He told me that fate was on his side that day but he was never able to fly again. He spoke to many of the people prior to that flight taking off and it forever changed his perspective on flying. I met so many people who told me so many interesting stories on the train. If you ever want to write an interesting book, take many trips across the country on Amtrak, your pages will fill up quickly with stories.

One of the Pros of taking Amtrak

The meals were phenomenal! I had a sleeper car from Chicago to Denver and your meals were included- breakfast, lunch and dinner. You had to make reservations and they would seat you with other passengers. Each table sat 4 people. I was a bit uncomfortable with this at first but I realized the others were too, so we ended up chatting a lot and after a few glasses of wine, giggling too.

Pros from my Amtrak Trip:

  • Excellent food
  • You’re able to roam freely and meet many people
  • I had a room (albeit small) to escape to for privacy and sleep on the Zephyr
  • We crossed the Mississippi River- that was a cool site to see, considering the majority of the sights are fields, did I mention that already?
  • Most of the people are extremely friendly and want to share stories with you, so if you enjoy listening to others- this makes the journey that much more fun

Cons traveling Amtrak Cross Country 

  • It’s a very bumpy ride and many times the train must change tracks because freight trains take precedence. The freight train tracks are not smooth at all.
  • Sleeping car rooms are expensive and very small. It’s hard to fit one suitcase in your room.
  • The beds are not comfortable.
  • If you do have a sleeping car room you have access to a public shower and restroom within your designated car- When I went in to take a shower at 6 am on my morning of arrival to Denver the shower had at least 20 dirty towels on the floor and water had not drained. There must have been at least a 1/2 of water. Needless to say, I did not shower, I washed up at a sink.
  • Carry light baggage. I didn’t realize I would have to tote my heavy bags from the train to the terminal in Chicago, and up 2 very narrow flights of stairs in order to get to my sleeping car. It’s a LONG walk from the train to the entrance of Union Station.
  • No wifi! So make sure to load movies to view offline, music and anything else it is you like to do on your phone or PC.
  • Can’t make calls from your phone as well.
  • The interior, including the seats, are not the cleanest. The porters have very little time to do major cleaning due to the train schedules.
  • My most critical complaint- Our rail system is in desperate need of repairs. It was quite obvious with all the changing of tracks and certain noises that the tracks themselves, are very old.

Would I consider taking Amtrak again? Probably not unless I had a lot of time to do so. My trip one way was 31 hours. When you travel for that amount of time a sleeping car room is almost a necessity but they are costly. Plan on paying approximately 400.00 more round trip if you do not ride coach the entire trip.

Once I arrived in Colorado, I was in awe!  Estes Park, Co

Photo Images on page: All rights reserved- Lisa Gallagher; Article-Amtrak Image provided by Google Images- Geno Daily

Will We Ever Move Forward- Mental Health

On By asocialvisionaryIn anxiety disorder, depression, employment, fears, healthcare, humanity, life, long reads, mental illness, psychology, Uncategorized10 Comments

This is a very tough personal story for me to write. I find this tougher than writing about myself.

I have a sister who was diagnosed with the Schizo-affective disorder in her late 30’s. Actually, she’s been given many diagnoses but I think the Pharmaceutical slaves, her Doctors finally settled with this label.  My sister was a high functioning person until she became ill. She went through a prolonged postpartum depression after the birth of her second child. We all felt something wasn’t right but we were not able to pinpoint what was going on. We all received a call one afternoon that she had tried to commit suicide. From what I remember, my sister dropped her daughters off at school and the babysitter then proceeded to drive to the Lake. She parked her car and swallowed a ton of pills. When she began to feel the effects of the pills she panicked and she rushed herself to the Doctor. They called an ambulance.  My sister was in ICU for 3 days and then sent to the Psychiatric Ward. Things just got worse from that day on.

After my sister was discharged we found out they had her on at least 4 different medications. At the time, we were just hoping the meds would help her to climb out the deep abyss she had been in for quite some time. Sadly, her symptoms began to escalate. My sister was beginning to hear voices and see ‘things’ that weren’t there. My sister developed psychosis and became suicidal again. Luckily she was able to confide in her family that she was suicidal. Back to the hospital she went and came home on even more medications.

Fast Forward

My sister has been in and out of the hospital for the past 15 years. Her psychosis has increased, she has trouble with her fine motor skills, cognitive impairment, receives IGG infusions because her immune system is shot, and is depressed most of the time. She stutters when she’s nervous or tired. I swear she’s on enough medications to kill a horse! She is unable to work because she can hardly function. She’s also gained a lot of weight along with other health issues.

As I write this tonight, she ended up back in the hospital a few days ago due to her psychosis increasing. I am her health care power of attorney and I requested a family meeting with her Doctor and Social worker. They are poisoning her with drugs and these drugs will eventually be her demise, not her illness.

She told me she is on 8 psychiatric drugs, AND the Doctor increased one of her medications today. 8 drugs, REALLY? What is wrong with these Wacka-Doodles?! She sounds like a zombie but that’s all good because the staff doesn’t have to deal with real strong emotions and the Doctor can discharge her faster if she ‘appears’ emotionally stable. Nevermind that she doesn’t appear physically stable.

The goal for calling a family meeting?

As a family we all have concerns. We want to know WHY she is on so many drugs, and bring it to their attention that many of these drugs interact severely with each other. We want them to know the drugs are causing her more physical issues. We want to find out if the Doctor has ever looked into alternative answers for her? She has currently been in IOP (Intensive Out patient therapy) for over a year because I requested something long term after her discharge last year. Unfortunately, it sounds as if the group has a wide range of illnesses and is fairly generic with the therapy the use. They need to understand that she functions fairly well for the first hour after waking- that is until she pops her drug cocktail.  My sister was also diagnosed with PTSD years ago and I don’t think the Therapists she’s seen have ever focused in depth on this aspect of her illness.

Pharmaceutical Companies are winning!

According to the Washington Post (2012) “The US spends $113 Billion on Mental Health Treatment and most of the dollars go towards prescription drugs and out patient therapy.” Many of the psychiatric drugs have side effects that are worse than the illness itself, not to mention they are dangerous when combined. Most of these drugs are highly addictive, even those which claim they aren’t. I’ve seen the withdrawal, and it’s not pretty.

So, what is the answer?

I’m stumped. I want to see her improve, but what I am witnessing is a continual decline. I would like to see her receive intensive one on one therapy which would include focusing on her PTSD. I want to shake her doctor and Therapists- asking them if they could function on this many drugs? I understand she needs medication because of the psychosis, but 8… I repeat, 8 psychiatric drugs?!

Sadly, my sister gained labels years ago and now they treat her in a robotic manner instead of understanding she’s human with emotions, a good heart, has dreams for a better future just like those who treat her do. She’s just a number to them- she’s become part of the system instead of keeping her individuality.

I would love input from anyone that has experienced something similar with a loved one and had much better luck? I would love to know what we are missing as a family, so we can be of more help to her.

Hospitalization: Do You Feel Your In Good Hands With A Hospitalist?

On By asocialvisionaryIn healthcare, life, long reads, medicalLeave a comment

patients_first

The use of Hospitalists is not a new topic, however it is a hot, and ongoing topic. You will find Hospitalists working in every hospital through out the US.  There seems to be mixed feelings among people who have been an inpatient at a hospital over the last 15 years.

Hospitalists  interface with patients longer.

Hospitalists interface with patients longer. That makes them better at diagnosing conditions, interpreting tests and understanding the care pathway for patients,” David says. “They are also very involved in safety and patient quality improvement.

The statement above may be true, but there are many circumstances where patient care has declined, and the patient is more at risk because the Hospitalist knows nothing about the patient prior to admission to a hospital.

Physician continuity during hospitalization may be associated with important outcomes other than length of stay. Transfers of patient care responsibility from one hospital physician to another may result in loss of important clinical information, potentially resulting in unnecessary tests and/or treatments. Additionally, transfers of patient care challenge physicians’ ability to establish rapport with their patients, potentially affecting patient satisfaction.

Transfers of patient care responsibility from one hospital physician to another may result in loss of important clinical information, potentially resulting in unnecessary tests and/or treatments.

Some will argue that “Hospitalists improve length of stay because they build relationships with individuals in the organization. And when they build relationships, they get consultations faster, they get people tested faster and they are generally on top of things.”  There are people who will agree that Hospitalists improve the length of stay, however this is where I diverge with some personal insight.

  • Hospitalists do not know the patient prior to admission
  • If the patient has no family members to advocate on behalf of the patient, a lot of pertinent medical information can be left out.
  • It’s not common for them to speak with the patient’s family physician who can also fill in some very important gaps when it comes to a full treatment plan.
  • Patients, in many cases are discharged too early for cost savings purposes. Which means the chances of re-admission are higher.
  • A patient will generally have more than one Hospitalist, and the danger of this is the idea that in many hospitals they do not meet together on behalf of the patient. Each Hospitalist will look at the patient’s chart and read the last Hospitalist’s notes.
  • I want to emphasize, that in larger hospitals IE: Teaching Hospitals they do have team meetings, however it depends on what you- the patient happen to be admitted for with regards to ‘team meetings.’
  • It’s been my personal experience that one Hospitalist may tend to over ride the treatment plan of the admitting Hospitalist.  This can be detrimental to recovery if the Hospitalist changes and/or adds medications.  Unlike the patient’s Primary Care Physician who knows the patients entire history, the Hospitalist is focused on the admitting diagnosis.
  • Patients admitted with underlying conditions that are not documented are in danger of not receiving the proper medications, or being given medications that are contraindicated. This can be a fatal mistake.

According to an article in the New York Times, “Hospitalists don’t appear terribly popular with patients and families, however. When the founding New Old Age blogger Jane Gross wrote about these specialists last year, she touched off a wave of complaints from readers. Americans don’t cotton to programs and people who step between them and their doctors. “A good primary care physician is a permanent part of your life,” Mike C. from Monroe, N.J., wrote. “To hospitalists, if you drop dead on the way home, they’ve still done their job.”

Hospitalists don’t appear terribly popular with patients and families

One last observation- When patients are discharged too early, they may lack the proper care at home which leads to a fast re-admission, Emergency Room visit, or worst case scenerio: death.  Many patients are discharged to Nursing Home Facilities to recover instead of finishing their recovery in the hospital. It’s more cost effective to discharge a patient to a Nursing Home verses keeping them in the hospital.

If you have a loved one that is admitted to a hospital, it’s wise to bring their medication list, keep a list of underlying conditions that you can share with the admitting nurse and Physician.  Due to the fast pace of our Medical care shifting to cost savings as a priority trumping patient care it’s important that we, the consumers stay educated- it can be the difference between life and death.

Anxiety And Depression Are Weaknesses, So Learn To Deal With It!

On By asocialvisionaryIn anxiety disorder, depression, fears, healthcare, humanity, life, lifestyle, long reads, medical, mental illness, phobia, psychology4 Comments

Depression sign

I used to know a girl who grew up with many fears, and she thought she would out grow those fears.  When ever she felt nervous she doubled over with stomach pains as a child.  This young child was afraid of the water, afraid to put a plug in an electrical outlet, afraid to ask questions in school, afraid of angering those she loved, afraid of camping, because ‘there might be bears,’ and afraid of death and dying.  Until she grew a bit older, she thought it was normal to have ongoing fears, and assumed all girls her age feared many of the things she did. This little girl had to be weak!

1970’s

When the little girl became a teenager she became less interested in her education and much more interested in boys, along with hanging out with the ‘in’ crowd.  She felt if she hung with the in crowd- she would be popular and that would boost her moral.  Unfortunately, what she was searching for didn’t change how she felt on the inside; it just shifted for quite a while. She didn’t pay as much attention to her internal feelings. She also lost her father when she was eleven years old, and hardly thought about him after a year or so of his passing.  This young teenager was passive, yet angered easily, and if she was hurting deeply inside she would punch her thighs or take her fingernails and scratch herself until she bled.  The young teenage girl would cry behind closed doors, but tried to wear a smile when she was in front of others.  She was weak! 

1980-90’s

When she became an adult new symptoms emerged; symptoms IE: Vertigo, racing heart,  along with a sense of hopelessness that seemed to come and go on a fairly regular basis when she was a young adult.  When she told others about her vertigo in particular they reacted as though she was a hypochondriac.  She didn’t want to lose her friends, because she was beginning to realize she was different and not as strong as they were, so she tried hard to keep her symptoms to herself.  She also attributed her symptoms to the stresses of raising two young children, working full time and taking care of her home.  She was weak!

2005-2015

She is now a middle aged adult, and found out in her late twenties she had anxiety, but no one told her it would hang on for a lifetime if she didn’t get help. After all, she was diagnosed in the 80’s, and and medicine was the answer! The medicine seemed to work for quite a few years, because her anxiety lessened, and she became less fearful of life in general.  Sadly, counseling wasn’t overly popular in the 80’s, and people didn’t talk about anxiety and other ‘mental health’ issues with others due to a major stigma attached to the term.  Again, she was weak! 

  • She wakes up every morning feeling as though she’s shaking from the inside out.
  • Her legs feel like jelly much of the day.
  • She replays her worries in her head all day long.
  • It feels like someone keeps tightening a noose around her neck through out each day.
  • Her heart beats fast most of the day.
  • She stays up late and could sleep all day if she could get away with it.
  • Her bed is her friend.
  • She cries easily, and gets distracted just as easily.
  • Her head feels like it’s carrying bricks instead of her brain.
  • Her muscles are tense all day long and cause pain.
  • She feels as though she’s in an abyss she can’t climb out of.
  • She beats herself up mentally, because of course “She’s weak!”
  • She gets dizzy easily which interferes with daily functioning.
  • She doesn’t share *most* of what she experiences, because she doesn’t want to appear weak! 
  • She feels hopeless.
  • She’s been on a waiting list for counseling for almost eight months.
  • She feels so alone, even though she is surrounded by so many loving people.

One thing that helps her when she’s feeling despair, anger or even extreme sadness is to crank up the jams.  One song she loves and actually brings her out of the funk she’s in (at least temporarily) – This summer gonna hurt like a Mother#ucke@

This middle aged woman would like to introduce you to Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Depression.  She was told that if you have Generalized Anxiety for a period of time lasting more than six months it generally leads to depression. Anxiety disorder and depression are still so misunderstood if one has not experienced it first hand. There is still a stigma attached to GAD and depression, and that’s why people try desperately to hide their symptoms or make up excuses.

She was genetically predisposed to the illness, and 40 years later is finding that there are a lot of medications doctors want to prescribe, however counseling isn’t easy to get into. The brain is an organ just like any other organ in the body, and it’s signals are misfiring along with sending out the wrong chemical messengers which lead to all the symptoms listed above. It’s disgraceful that the medical community puts patients on the back burner when it comes to mental health; mental health should be taken just as seriously as a person’s physical health. Sadly, if someone goes without proper treatment for any length of time- the condition worsens.

If generalized anxiety and/or depression go on for a long period of time, it does begin to take a toll on a person’s physical health.  The symptoms a person experiences on a daily basis if untreated or not treated properly affect not just the brain, but the body as a whole.

The gal, who is now middle aged has been on a medication for years. She has been in counseling before, but it wasn’t the proper type of counseling. Talk Therapy does not help.  They have also found people diagnosed with GAD tend to have bad experiences with most antidepressants, so GAD is hard to treat with medication alone.

She is patiently (or not so patiently anymore) waiting to get into proper counseling. She was told EMDR along with CBT works well with people like herself.

She did however learn a few things over the years; she can’t control the anxiety and depression, because it is an illness.  She’s aware that with proper counseling there is hope. She’s also aware that she is not weak, she’s been ill and trying hard to function as normal for way too long. She’s learned that she is fairly strong, considering she’s been able to function even when she feels as though she can’t go on.

She is not weak!

Is Anxiety Disease Interfering With Your Job?

On By asocialvisionaryIn anxiety disorder, life, lifestyle, long reads, panic disorder2 Comments

Anxiety-33085817

We all get anxious when it comes to our jobs, however Anxiety Disease – also called Anxiety Disorder can lead to missing too much time from work, leaving work early, or ultimately losing your job.

Many people aren’t aware they have Anxiety disorder until their symptoms worsen.  Most people with Anxiety Disorder have had a degree of it their entire lives, and without proper treatment,  the symptoms intensify with age.  When symptoms of anxiety begin to intensify; those symptoms will begin to affect your job.

I began working as a Respiratory Technician when I was 19 years old.  I loved my job!  I was so proud of myself at the young age of 19 years old to be working with trauma patients in the Emergency Room, and Intensive Care.  I was proud that I was learning so much, and at a fast pace. I enjoyed my one on one time with patients who needed breathing treatments. I even enjoyed charting.  I got a long well with the many Physician’s we had to interact with,  which is very important when you are working in the Medical Field.  I must admit, when we were called to the Emergency Room stat,  a rush of adrenaline would over come me.  I believe that ‘rush’ helped me to cope during some very difficult trauma’s we would face.  When you heard the stat page to ER, you never knew what you were going to see until you walked into the Emergency Room.

One afternoon we received a stat page to the Emergency Room, and we were told that there were two cold water drowning victims that would be transported in.  The patients were still in the water, so we had to set up our equipment in order to be ready when the Paramedics brought the patients in.  We were told to go back to our floors and continue our treatments there until we got the call that the patients were en-route.

I was working, and suddenly hear my name being paged stat by the hospital operator.  I picked up the page, and it was the Emergency Room Supervisor;  she asked which floor I was working on, and asked me to meet her at the end of the hall.  I couldn’t understand why she wanted to meet me, because she was not my supervisor.  I met her, and I will never forget the words she spoke.

“Lisa, your brother is one of the cold water drowning victims!”  I panicked, and asked where he was?  The Nursing Supervisor told me, “He’s in ER in shock, and he needs you.”  At this point I was beginning to feel tears well up, and I asked her who was with him in the water?  She told me “Bobby something.”  I spouted off a last name, and she said, “Yes, that’s his name.”

At this point I ran to the Emergency room to be with my brother who was in shock. Bobby was brought in approximately 20 minutes later and sadly, he did not make it.

After this incident, every time we received a stat page to the Emergency room I would begin to get dizzy, worry it was going to be someone I knew, feel nauseated and just want to run in the other direction- out the door!

As time progressed so did my symptoms. I decided I needed something less stressful, so I transferred to our Cardiac Lab, and thought that would make life much easier.  This couldn’t have been further from the truth.  I began having panic attacks in the form of extreme dizziness which I felt I was going to pass out from.  The panic attacks would come on without any precipitating factors.  I thought I had a serious illness, because they were so frequent; I didn’t know anything about Panic attacks at the time. Panic attacks can present with many different symptoms.

After seeing many different Physician’s for my dizziness, along with other symptoms it was determined I had Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It was time for me to reassess my life.

The good news is there is treatment, and many people will have to make life style changes that are conducive to their own health. A life style change may mean a change in career as well. In my case it was determined that a chain of events (seeing people die, in particular my brother’s friend), opened up a can of worms, because I had lost my father 8 years prior to working in Respiratory Therapy. I also found out later on that I did not go through all the stages of grief; factor in the fact that Anxiety Disease is not due to a person being nervous- According to the Cleveland Clinic.

“Like certain illnesses, such as diabetes, anxiety disorders might be caused by chemical imbalances in the body. Studies have shown that severe or long-lasting stress can change the balance of chemicals in the brain that control mood. Studies also have shown that anxiety disorders run in families, which means that they can be inherited from one or both parents, like hair or eye color. In addition, certain environmental factors—such as a trauma or significant event—might trigger an anxiety disorder in people who have an inherited susceptibility to developing the disorder.”

The good news IS- there is life , and employment beyond the disease, and you are not alone.

Anxiety disorders “affect about 40 million adult Americans.They are the most common mental illnesses in the U.S. Most anxiety disorders begin in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. They occur more often in women than in men.”

With proper treatment, early recognition and even employers who educate themselves, you do not need to give up your day job.  Don’t be afraid to speak about it, because it’s an illness just like diabetes, thyroid disease etc… , there is no shame in having any illness.  The only shame is when it’s untreated, or not recognized.

I have found over the years that it’s good to be open with those you can trust. They may not fully understand what you are going through, but this is the case with any illness when another has not experienced it, yet a good employer along with a good support system outside of your job will help you to over come obstacles you may have thought were not possible.  Remember,  with diligence, and faith in yourself anything is possible. Never give up, and never think you are not worth it!  And, what I have found works very well for me & it’s proven to work for many is some form or exercise or relaxation techniques.  Exercise increases endorphin’s, and reduces stress/anxiety.

Remember, with support, treatment, education,  and understanding; You’ve got this!