By Jane Malkoff MSN RN NP
Abracadabra Alakazam! Have you ever felt like a magic trick would have worked better for you than the medical advice you were given? Perhaps you once hoped for a mystical spell because you believed it could be a more realistic way to conjure up some quality care in a long term care facility. After a recent long day of hard work, I was feeling a bit like there was never going to be a way to truly impact the multitudes of poor care issues in the world and especially those issues dear to my heart, the care issues of older adults. I decided (and I may have been half asleep at the time) I needed a fancy trick or a clever scheme to embellish myself to be better seen and heard. Over and over I just kept thinking, “Abracadabra!” I had no idea at that drowsy desperate moment just how fitting it actually was to boldly declare, “Abracadabra” and “Alakazam”!
Unfortunately, I could not picture myself in a Wonder Women power suit. I could not even see myself dressed for everyday work with just a simple but awesome cape. All I could see in my mind was an image of myself calmly saying “abracadabra”. I was wearing my somewhat Cheshire catlike grin while holding out the dark blue plastic toothbrush holder made for traveling that now had a gold glittery paper star taped to it my son had made special just for me for mother’s day several years earlier.
Abracadabra it turns out is a word of power and in its day was written out in the form of a triangle and worn around the neck to protect and to prevent sickness. Interesting. Alakazam is a word most likely used originally to instill the idea of a rapid transformation, somewhat like the word presto. How appropriate! Suddenly, there was a huge networking group of advocates just over the horizon beginning to sweep across the globe, striving to protect and prevent further suffering, instantaneously! My alarm went off, I knocked the homemade wand off my bedside table and up out of bed I rose to begin another day of care consulting and advocacy at Clarity Care Advocates.
I am fully awake now and fairly well rested as far as care advocates go and I am keenly and somewhat painfully aware there is no magic, there is no spell to conjure, and maybe saddest of all for me there is no awesome cape we nurse advocates at Clarity can don in order to become all powerful and all helpful. Thankfully though, those facts do not stop us from supporting wholeheartedly those who reach out for our help. It really doesn’t take eye of newt or toe of frog. It takes a warm helping hand, a person willing to give of time and ideas, an experienced expert to be a fearless voice, and a community to support your consumer rights in the health care system.
How will you know if you could benefit from our services? It may come to you suddenly when you find yourself in need of a magic solution for your health care situation. Or, perhaps you will simply find these three questions useful in making that determination.
1. Are you feeling isolated in a situation requiring a community effort?
2. Do you feel like you need a surrogate/clone/expert to help you to navigate a loved one through the aging process of medical needs, housing, and care options?
3. Do you see room for improvement in your loved one’s life trajectory but aren’t sure how to proceed?
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