Making a Direct Impact on a Patient

In my role as a NHC Chicago member and Health Educator at Heartland Health Centers Lincoln Square Location and Roosevelt High School, I have the honor of meeting with patients and speaking about their health needs. Many of them have recently been given a new diagnosis, while others I’ve seen have had their diagnosis for longer periods, but have a hard time managing it. One of my patients, who fits the latter criteria, came to her first appointment with me with uncontrolled high blood pressure. Hoping the appointments would be quick because she had many other chores to get done, I tried to be considerate of her time and strived to make the most of our short conversations together. During each appointment, she would speak of all these wonderful ways she could improve her health; she was creative, willing, and spirited while getting started. But as each appointment passed, she consistently was missing her goals. One week she would enthusiastically talk about a new idea she could implement in her life, and the next she would shrug it off and say it must not be the fix for her. I realized her life revolved around taking care of her family. In fact it seemed like everything she did involved cooking for them, cleaning for them, doing their laundry, the list went on. I asked her when she did things for herself, to which the patient shrugged and said she didn’t do things for herself, she takes care of others first before herself. She admitted that these days, there was so much to do for others that she simply did not have time to address her own needs. 

This was the breakthrough I needed with her that I did not realize I was searching for. We spoke softly and openly about how important it was to take care of others, a belief we both hold deeply in our hearts. It brought us joy to take care of our families, and even though it was physically and emotionally draining, we both agreed it was always worth it. Gently, I brought harsh reality back into the situation. I reminded her that she cannot take care of her family if she is sick, and that her health could surely deteriorate if she did not take care of herself. This is when we changed her point of view on taking care of herself; instead of seeing it as a selfish task, she saw it as a step she has to take in order to better take care of her family. She no longer saw me as someone who could remind her of all the things she did not have time for, but rather someone who can help her take care of herself. 

I know it was very hard for her to accept my help, but she kept coming back to her appointments because she knew we had the same goal in mind, and because of the relationship we had created.

I’m changing the way people treat themselves, both emotionally through building confidence and physically through establishing good habits. This increase in confidence comes from giving them knowledge; you cannot feel in control if you do not know what to do to help yourself. Creating healthy habits leads to tangible results that both heal and motivate my patients.