Becoming a Professional Patient: Advocacy, Empowerment, and Building a Community

I have always considered myself a professional patient. Since the time I was born, I have more or less lived in and out of hospitals, doctor's appointments, weekly labs, broken bones, injuries, surgeries. I could go on and on, but there's my medical resume for that. When you do this, growing up in healthcare, it shapes you.

You're shaped by it. And you become a professional. You're good at it, even if you don't want to be. You know how things work. You know politics, bureaucracy. You know the answer to every request before you make it. And you know how to get it anyway. You know how things work. You know how things get done. You know how to get things done, even if that isn't always pretty.

I realize that as a professional patient, sometimes that also feels like a nonstop fighter. You're always fighting for something. You're fighting for access to care that you need. You're fighting with a doctor

or someone who is in your way. You're arguing with a doctor. You disagree with your treatment plan, and you're very, very insistent that you know best. And you do, because you're the professional. You're the patient. Doctors are there to guide you, but all in all, it's your turf. It's our turf, and it's time that people take notice.

We are the professionals, written by patients, for patients, to empower patients.

And that's what this is too. This isn't a rant. This isn't strictly political. [00:02:00] Yes, I will call things out. And yes, I want others to call things out. I want people to be made aware of issues within the healthcare system. Disparities, cracks. There are so many. But I don't want it to just be that. I want it to be where people can come together as a community.

Where we can celebrate milestones, we can laugh, we understand that disabled is not a dirty word. We're there for each other, support each other, we give each other what doctors don't hand out. We give each other the things that aren't in the pamphlets that doctors give us after a specific diagnosis. We know what to prepare each other for.

This is a community more than a newsletter. This is also something, that hopefully healthcare professionals can learn from. Take something away. What are we saying as patients? What are we saying is wrong? What are we saying we love? Because that's not all bad.

In each newsletter, there will be a story spotlight, where someone shares their story. I really look forward to reading that. For someone, every newsletter, there will be a story spotlight. or someone shares their story.

It will include a blog that I write about any given thing.

Then it will include an article, whether it be timely, whether it be relevant to someone's story or my blog, whether it be an FYI, a joke sheet, or a navigation pamphlet of sorts.

I hope that there will be some extra sprinkles in as well. There may be calls to action. Please check out our community feature. Engage. That's what excites me. Connection. I am definitely going to take part in our community. I am going to chat, ask questions, laugh, answer questions. Let's learn from each other.

But most of all, let's be empowered. Let's empower ourselves, let's empower others. Because that's what this is. Because even with the things we don't like, even with the problems, even with the healthcare policy monsters we have to fight, At the end of the day, we are powerful. We earned that power. It's ours. For anyone else to try to take it away, well, you messed with the wrong people.

Welcome to a professional patient.