When Going to a Doctor Appointment Is Like Preparing for Battle

“You should stop looking for answers.”

Time seems to freeze as a doctor says these words to me and my family. His words echo and bounce through my ears into my shell-shocked brain. I have dealt with ignorant doctors my whole life; however, I have never dealt with one who has shut me down so quickly and who actually has the nerve to tell me to stop seeking answers. Until now.

This brings me to my point: How do you keep doctors from shutting you down? How much do you tell your doctors? After so many times of disbelief, what parts of your history do you leave out? When I go into a doctor appointment, I am not going into an office. I am going onto a battle field for war, with a well thought out battle plan.

I rehearse different scenarios inside my head, planning each attack, counter attack and defensive move. I have key parts of my history I leave out. I know exactly what I will tell them and what I will not. My army is my mouth and brain, and they train for months ahead of time. My words are my bullets and arrows, and they are ready to fly.

Their office is my battlefield and I go in ready to fight for my life, because I am. Whether these doctors realize it or not, I am fighting for the life I want and deserve. And I may lose the battle in their office, I may run out of ammunition, they may steal my weapons, but the war is far from over. I will not retreat, I will not surrender. I will not stop until I win the war in the battlefield of the doctors’ offices.

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Thinkstock photo via ColorBlind Images.