SUPPORT GROUP
A Valley Fever support group in the Northwest Valley, where all the public is welcome.
Come and join Arizona Victims of Valley Fever. Annual membership is $10 a year. We don't have fundraisers for operating needs, so this helps us continue to do the work we do. This is especially for people who have or have had Valley Fever, and pet owners who have pets with the disease. Anyone can get Valley Fever, so bring your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, club members and medical personnel who wish to learn more about Valley Fever. Everyone is welcome.
ARIZONA VICTIMS OF VALLEY FEVER, INC. GOALS are:- Share and promote Valley Fever’s current information and resources for public awareness of this disease;
Work with Valley Fever Center of Excellence in fund-raising for the cure; - Share personal Valley Fever case stories with chapter members;
- Support and Comfort those affected with Valley Fever;
- Support and Comfort pet owners of animals affected with Valley Fever;
- Support Funding for a Valley Fever cure and for vaccine research for Valley Fever Center for Excellence;
Make new friends with others that have Valley Fever, who understand what you are going through and experiencing.
Provide assistance to Civilians, active Military and Veterans in getting Long-Term disability,
Social Security, and Veterans Administration disability benefits.
When: Third Thursday of each month
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Where: P.O.R.A. at 13815 Camino del Sol, Sun City West, AZ (in the Classroom)
Contat Person: AVVF Founder, Pat Curley White, pat-valleyfever@live.com, 623-584-8331
Work with Valley Fever Center of Excellence in fund-raising for the cure;
Make new friends with others that have Valley Fever, who understand what you are going through and experiencing.
Provide assistance to Civilians, active Military and Veterans in getting Long-Term disability,
Social Security, and Veterans Administration disability benefits.
SPEAK UP TO DOCTORS, FOR DEAR LIFE
Written by: Cheryl Alkon
Many of you have heard me say this at lectures and at support group meetings, but I thought, I would type up this article for you all to read. Pat White
About 100,000 people die each year due to medical errors, largely from misdiagnoses, says Leana Wen, co-author of When Doctors don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests, a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School and an ER physician. “It is critical,” she says, “for patients to advocate for themselves.” Her tips on how to do that:
Partner. “So many patients are used to a parent-child relationship, but you want to be an equal partner,” Wen says. Speak up if you don’t understand what the doctor is telling you, and be sure all your questions are answered clearly. Also, Wen says, “It’s up to you to tell the doctor what you are feeling and for the doctor to turn those symptoms into a diagnosis.”
Practice. The average doctor interrupts patients in 10 seconds, says Wen. So practice telling your situation in that time. Tell a beginning, middle and end and don’t jump around. Use contest to clarify: “The pain was so bad that I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning and I couldn’t go to work.”
Insist. “The most common form of diagnosis is no diagnosis at all,” says Wen. Challenge your doctors to come up with something. “Say I just want to know what you are thinking; what is the most likely diagnosis?” Or, “What are two or three things you think this is?”
Trust Instinct. Most important, Wen says, “YOU KNOW YOUR BODY BETTER THAN ANYONE.”
If you do not know your body, make it your new best friend. If you have to jot down notes so that you can tell your doctor how you are feeling and mark down dates, time and how many times a day/week you have symptoms. By Pat White
Many of you have heard me say this at lectures and at support group meetings, but I thought, I would type up this article for you all to read. Pat White
About 100,000 people die each year due to medical errors, largely from misdiagnoses, says Leana Wen, co-author of When Doctors don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests, a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School and an ER physician. “It is critical,” she says, “for patients to advocate for themselves.” Her tips on how to do that:
Partner. “So many patients are used to a parent-child relationship, but you want to be an equal partner,” Wen says. Speak up if you don’t understand what the doctor is telling you, and be sure all your questions are answered clearly. Also, Wen says, “It’s up to you to tell the doctor what you are feeling and for the doctor to turn those symptoms into a diagnosis.”
Practice. The average doctor interrupts patients in 10 seconds, says Wen. So practice telling your situation in that time. Tell a beginning, middle and end and don’t jump around. Use contest to clarify: “The pain was so bad that I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning and I couldn’t go to work.”
Insist. “The most common form of diagnosis is no diagnosis at all,” says Wen. Challenge your doctors to come up with something. “Say I just want to know what you are thinking; what is the most likely diagnosis?” Or, “What are two or three things you think this is?”
Trust Instinct. Most important, Wen says, “YOU KNOW YOUR BODY BETTER THAN ANYONE.”
If you do not know your body, make it your new best friend. If you have to jot down notes so that you can tell your doctor how you are feeling and mark down dates, time and how many times a day/week you have symptoms. By Pat White
