The communication magic of “Caring Bridge”

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 10 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ❤️   Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)

Last week, I responded to a comment here from one of my longtime Heart Sisters  readers, which reminded me of a remarkable patient resource site called Caring Bridge  Her comment took me back in time to my own experience with Caring Bridge – not as a patient, but as a person who just wanted to help out a friend. My response to that comment reminded me, dear reader, that I had not ever mentioned this useful site to my own readers. That’s about to change today!

Here’s how the Caring Bridge site may help you and/or your family:  Continue reading “The communication magic of “Caring Bridge”” →

When you don’t want to talk about your medical updates

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 10 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ❤️   Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)

When you get together with your girlfriends, are there any conversation topics that are not open for discussion? Any that are off-limits? Any personal stories that you think are, well, just too personal to talk about to those women closest to you?

No, me neither.  Continue reading “When you don’t want to talk about your medical updates” →

Clinical “noise” in medicine: it’s not what you think

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 9 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ❤️   Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)

Noise is getting in the way of good medical practice and better patient outcomes, according to Dr. Kamran Abbasi, Editor-In-Chief of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in a recent column he called What is Clinical Noise? – and How to Silence It. But he wasn’t referring to annoying loud noises in our environment, but to unwanted distractions in medicine.
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 Dr. Abbasi illustrates that noise by picturing a dart board with darts sprayed all around the bullseye, distracting players from focusing on what matters to dart players: hitting the bullseye.  .

Continue reading “Clinical “noise” in medicine: it’s not what you think” →

When the nursing staff forget about you. . .

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 20 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ❤️   Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)

I was recently introduced to the new-to-me concept called The Window of Tolerance (originally described by Dr. Dan Siegel at UCLA School of Medicine over 25 years ago). This concept basically describes an optimal zone in which we’re best able to function and thrive in everyday life, while dealing pretty effectively with our day-to-day stress.

Most people, Dr. Siegel believes, deal with the demands of everyday life without too much difficulty. But for some of us – especially those facing a serious diagnosis, undue stress, anxiety, pain or trauma, it can often be difficult to stay in the optimal zone of our own Window of Tolerance.
 Continue reading “When the nursing staff forget about you. . .” →