health – Natalie Abbott

What’s the use of health data…

if you don’t interpret things?

I’m a librarian. I like knowing stuff, or having it at my disposal if I need to look it up. Therefore I am inherently a fan of having access to a bunch of my medical info…except when there isn’t a good explanation to go along with the data.

Finally got the blood tests done (that were a month overdue, my bad!) Got an e-mail literally the next day with a handy link to the results: yay! They even came with charts. Yay!

So…layman’s terms: I know my numbers were too high last time. Are these numbers low enough? Who knows…because not only did the online link to the test results not contain any kind of explaination.

I could consult Dr Google, but I’d prefer not to (because I know how unreliable that Dr Google can be). So I’ll wait for an update from my doctor and meanwhile mull over the value of patient information without actually telling us what it means.

it’s Asthma Awareness Month!

And I can’t resist the opportunity to share a great infographic. Seriously, Infographics make me happy.

Strangely enough, it took doctors a long time to diagnose me with asthma (well, actually, my pediatric pulmonologist didn’t really know if it is asthma or not but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck… so the saying goes).

On a day to day basis my issues are happily controlled by a combination of inhalers and a miracle pill that seriously improved my life so much once I started taking it! I went from missing weeks of school to only having a few issues a year. I do have a ridiculous amount of phlegm all. the. time. (so phlegmatic!)

Wordless Wednesday: July is National Cleft & Craniofacial Awareness & Prevention Month

www.nccapm.org

So for some reason I’m not entirely sure of… we get 2 months for craniofacial awareness. Yay? Anyway, this is July’s logo and information! Check it out, and if you don’t know much about craniofacial conditions check the supporting organizations and learn about the diverse conditions, some you’ve heard of (cleft lip, for example) and many you have not (Moebius syndrome, other conditions such as Apert syndrome). Spreading the word about awareness of craniofacial conditions is needed, as these are often misunderstood and not really covered by the broader disability community.