Dean shared with me that he himself had been feeling completely well prior to that fateful health screening that turned up worrisome findings.
“Just do it! You will thank yourself for it later,” he said. “It is also a gift to know you have a clean bill of health.”
The irony of the situation was not lost on me: A terminally ill person preaching to a general practitioner on the importance of health screenings.
But it landed. The urgency in his voice and the genuine concern he expressed for my health reminded me that I’m not just a provider of healthcare – I’m also a person in need of healthcare.
INERTIA AND FEAR
After speaking to Dean, I started making plans for my own health screening – but I hadn’t expected this many obstacles to surface.
Time had to be set aside for getting blood drawn, taking of biometrics such as height and weight, as well as collection of specimens including urine samples.
I work at a health screening centre which, some may say, is half the battle won. However, I still needed to plan my time well, get the necessary approval from my superiors, and ensure that my work would still be completed efficiently.
I found myself stalled by inertia – and, perhaps a little surprisingly, grappling with fear of the unknown.
Prior to this, I had only ever done screenings that were compulsory for me to complete as a healthcare provider, such as hepatitis and HIV screenings.
I had never done comprehensive blood tests. I had no idea what my liver or kidney function was like.
