I guess, after the months that I have been writing about older people, memory and emotion, I should spend some time describing what, in my eyes, is Alzheimer’s disease – bearing in mind that this is my interpretation, rather than say the view you might get from another doctor, whether geriatrician, psychiatrist or neurologist. ThereContinue reading “Alzheimer’s – what is it?”
Monthly Archives: December 2015
Safety Culture
Safety, therefore, I believe is ensuring that what we want to happen, happens, with no surprises, no red-herrings, complications or unscheduled stops.
Immunology, Samsara & Mindfulness
It could be that the Puff did indeed have some components of shellfish – a scraping of some Umami residue perhaps and the person is heading rapidly into anaphylaxis
The elderly old
So, I have a problem with the elderly; what do I do when I have James, a 95 year old man, with coal tattoos crisscrossing his knees from years down the pit, as he coughs and lies in bed worrying about his wife who is at home, struggling to cope herself.
This is me… this is you
How can we change a 98 year old with pneumonia into a person, how can we sketch, add layers of detail that establish the place of this person in the clinical stratosphere? How can I convey their humanity?
Some more thoughts on urine infections…
It is likely that a doctor, a nurse or carer admitting, ‘something is wrong, I don’t know what,’ is better than heading off down a therapeutic blind alley.
Reducing restrictive interventions
Take a moment to think of those nurses, healthcare assistants, therapists and domestics who daily see beyond the fear and the worry of an old person, to the human being who is hiding in the shadows, obscured by layers of disease, for they are what keep us human.
Therapeutic lies and false promises…
I have spent the past few days feeling bad – It is strange, when you discover that something you have been doing, that you had considered ‘right’ is explained to be wrong; it is a little like breaking the law when you don’t know something is illegal … I can’t think of an instance (or,Continue reading “Therapeutic lies and false promises…”
The drugs don’t work they just make you worse
The Verve released this song in 1997 in their album ‘Urban Hymns’. I was living in Dundee at the time and can remember walking down Perth Road singing this as I met my friend Phil who has walking in the opposite direction, singing the same song to himself. It is funny that so manyContinue reading “The drugs don’t work they just make you worse”
Talking to computers, talking to humans
I learned something interesting yesterday. On occasion, people prefer computers. I appreciate this is a generalisation. These days, most of us are comfortable around computers – whether they are inside our phones, microwaves, TVs or something that is central to our working day. Computer communication is still something that is a little odd. Listening toContinue reading “Talking to computers, talking to humans”
Dr Rod’s Odd Blog (almondemotion) 