Welcome
It’s been over 30 years since I wrote publicly about some of my personal struggles aside from a random social media comment here and there. In the past I have had a lot of success as a writer, which is kind of funny because looking back I have no idea what I was really writing about that had any value to the world. Existential dread, maybe? I’ve been trying to figure out how I can provide value — what is it within me that is relatable to the outside world? I may not have the answer to that yet, but I think in this space I at least have an channel throw something out there are see what happens.
I have found myself at 33 years old looking back at the decisions I have made and the struggles I have gone through with confusion. I have always wanted to help people, but never knew how to best go about it. I started out as a psych major and then changed that major many times between 2010 and 2020 from Industrial Psychology to Applied Behavior Analysis. I would have become a medical doctor or a genetisist, but after failing college algebra twice, biology once, and with limited funds for tutoring back in 2010, I was low on options.
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For the past decade I have been on a journey to understand a mysterious illness or group of illnesses that I have been fighting with for the majority of my life. After becoming a mother and being exposed very quickly to some of the craziest and most dysfunctional parts of our healthcare system, I was angry. Angry for myself, and angry for the people around me fighting against a broken system with but a shred of hope and a shield of delusion. I was angry for the doctors and nurses, the researchers and scientists, the administrators, the housekeeping staff, the guy delivering medical supplies… all of them. I was so incredibly angry and frustrated as I watched preventable obstacles that negatively impacted patient care over and over and over again.
I was so angry that despite being stuck at home and in my 30’s, I got two degrees in Healthcare Administration. I was so angry (and still am) that I spent much of my free time researching technology, methodology, and the stories of real patients experiencing wading through years of processes that only actually required 5 minutes or less of someone’s time. I spend my time analyzing my own health struggles, the struggles of my family and friends, and how absurd it is to stand by in exhaustion before the Goliath of puppet-master companies orchestrating the healthcare system against those who need it.
There are a lot of issues at play in the dysfunction of the American healthcare system, but what I am most passionate about are the simple operational changes that healthcare facilities can and should make to positively impact patient care on a broad scale. I intend to bring these to light by sharing my own stories and potentially the stories of others to bring awareness, detailed analysis, and positive lasting change.
Come with me on this journey.
