Blog Post #4

Blog 4 

No one really understands the experience of someone else until they themselves have the same experience it. Through having someone close to me experience shingles I can only imagine what a person feels dealing with that kind of an illness. The person that I knew who had gone through this horrible experience tried explained to the best of their abilities what it felt like to live with the virus. At that point all I had to offer was encouragement each day as a way to help them move through this experience a little better. Family members are great for patients because they are able to offer support, encouragement, and most importantly but certainly not the least, comfort. It may seem as though they are at a lost but patients do appreciate the presence of their loved ones by their side. I feel that them knowing that they are not alone, patients seem stronger and more encouraged to get through the illness and achieve optimal health. It is important for the family to go the clinic with the patient and ask questions so that the patient and the physician sees that they have loved ones desiring to care for them during this time. Family members should know the medications that the patients are taking, how they are to take it, when they are to take, and most importantly for how long. This will increase the chances of the patient getting well and will remove any worry of whether or not the patient will be able to care for themselves. It will be a great help to have a professionals go over what all needs to be done for the patient to care for themselves to get well quickly if the time they have with the patient makes it possible. The patient and the family member should be aware of all the resources available to them. I believe that the saying is true for the most part that when a person knows better, they do better.