Lately, there has been a lot of talk about how victims should never be blamed. Personally, I think this is part of the problem in our current society. I will use the example of the pedestrian in the crosswalk.
Someone is waiting to cross the street at a busy intersection. Suddenly the indicator turns color to show that the pedestrian has the right of way in the crosswalk.
Should the pedestrian check to make sure it's safe before entering the crosswalk?
Yes
Ultimately, not exclusively, the responsibility of your own health is yours.
All of the circumstances that surround the infinite possible events only make the case as to who else is ALSO to blame. In a perfect world, the answer to this question is "No." There are many things that make this an imperfect world, one of those such things is the human condition.
Furthermore, failure is part of life and should be embraced when discovered. The greatest lessons in life are learned from our own failures and the consequences of our actions. We should leap at the chance to learn from our mistakes in the hopes that we will become a better person.
With that said, we must accept this responsibility to rule our own lives. Failures become learning opportunities and individuals become empowered toward positive change. Through failure, we develop corrective actions that will mitigate risk associated with similar events in the hopes that we prevent future problems. If we don't take responsibility for our own predicament, this risk mitigation rarely occurs and victims will statistically find themselves as victims again.
It's important to remember that the construct of right and wrong do not exist outside the realm of things like Math and Science. I can go into how society defines right from wrong in another post, just understand that you don't have to be wrong in order to be responsible, and just because you feel you're right doesn't mean there is nothing to learn.
I recently required medical aid from the Veteran Affairs (VA) office in my local area. I was given an injection by a nurse that was issued by my doctor for the pain in my neck. The pain in my neck was gone but after five days of debilitating pain in my stomach I was finally instructed by the VA to visit the closest emergency room (non-VA) where they had diagnosed my condition as acute renal failure (reduced kidney function). Once the VA was notified, they had instructed the ER to discharge me and they would continue to monitor my vitals.
Due to the lack of "monitoring" on the part of the VA, I had to be re-admitted to the VA hospital after two additional days of pain. I spent four days at the hospital in pain with no treatment, they discharged my with no diagnosis and no further instructions. At the time of writing this letter, I have been out of the hospital for two days, my pain has only slightly subsided and I am still awaiting treatment for the unknown cause of my debilitating pain.
I have written this story from the perspective of a victim who was mistreated by the medical staff that should be responsible for bringing health and well-being to patients. I refuse to be a victim so during all this time I have been missing work from my full-time job, I have been doing research.
The treatments related to my symptoms include increased water intake (like 2-3 gal / day) and reduced activity. Well, I have been bed-ridden for the last two weeks from pain, so the activity is clearly checked. I've been drinking water like a fish ever since I found out about the potential kidney issue, so that is also good to go.
Despite TWO emergency rooms, 7 doctors, 12 nurses, and all the resources available to the Veteran Affairs Medical Program throughout the country, the only reason I am healing is because I took my own advice.
It is ironic that my trust in a doctor put me in the emergency room and my mistrust of medicine got me healing and home. Your life, your health, your safety, your predicament in ANY situation is a direct result of the decisions you make. OWN that and learn from it, it may save your life as it did mine.
Context:
Someone is waiting to cross the street at a busy intersection. Suddenly the indicator turns color to show that the pedestrian has the right of way in the crosswalk.
Question:
Should the pedestrian check to make sure it's safe before entering the crosswalk?
Answer:
Yes
Explanation:
Ultimately, not exclusively, the responsibility of your own health is yours.
All of the circumstances that surround the infinite possible events only make the case as to who else is ALSO to blame. In a perfect world, the answer to this question is "No." There are many things that make this an imperfect world, one of those such things is the human condition.
Furthermore, failure is part of life and should be embraced when discovered. The greatest lessons in life are learned from our own failures and the consequences of our actions. We should leap at the chance to learn from our mistakes in the hopes that we will become a better person.
With that said, we must accept this responsibility to rule our own lives. Failures become learning opportunities and individuals become empowered toward positive change. Through failure, we develop corrective actions that will mitigate risk associated with similar events in the hopes that we prevent future problems. If we don't take responsibility for our own predicament, this risk mitigation rarely occurs and victims will statistically find themselves as victims again.
It's important to remember that the construct of right and wrong do not exist outside the realm of things like Math and Science. I can go into how society defines right from wrong in another post, just understand that you don't have to be wrong in order to be responsible, and just because you feel you're right doesn't mean there is nothing to learn.
Personal Experience:
I recently required medical aid from the Veteran Affairs (VA) office in my local area. I was given an injection by a nurse that was issued by my doctor for the pain in my neck. The pain in my neck was gone but after five days of debilitating pain in my stomach I was finally instructed by the VA to visit the closest emergency room (non-VA) where they had diagnosed my condition as acute renal failure (reduced kidney function). Once the VA was notified, they had instructed the ER to discharge me and they would continue to monitor my vitals.
Due to the lack of "monitoring" on the part of the VA, I had to be re-admitted to the VA hospital after two additional days of pain. I spent four days at the hospital in pain with no treatment, they discharged my with no diagnosis and no further instructions. At the time of writing this letter, I have been out of the hospital for two days, my pain has only slightly subsided and I am still awaiting treatment for the unknown cause of my debilitating pain.
I have written this story from the perspective of a victim who was mistreated by the medical staff that should be responsible for bringing health and well-being to patients. I refuse to be a victim so during all this time I have been missing work from my full-time job, I have been doing research.
The treatments related to my symptoms include increased water intake (like 2-3 gal / day) and reduced activity. Well, I have been bed-ridden for the last two weeks from pain, so the activity is clearly checked. I've been drinking water like a fish ever since I found out about the potential kidney issue, so that is also good to go.
Despite TWO emergency rooms, 7 doctors, 12 nurses, and all the resources available to the Veteran Affairs Medical Program throughout the country, the only reason I am healing is because I took my own advice.
It is ironic that my trust in a doctor put me in the emergency room and my mistrust of medicine got me healing and home. Your life, your health, your safety, your predicament in ANY situation is a direct result of the decisions you make. OWN that and learn from it, it may save your life as it did mine.
