Earlier today I attended the wedding of a sweet young couple. It was the first wedding I have ever been to at our church, and it was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever attended. God was glorified as we heard how He had done a marvelous work of grace in their hearts to transform who they are today.
As I was waiting for the service to begin, I met a friend of the bride who had been good friends with her over 10 years ago. She mentioned that she now lived two hours away in a city called Avon Park located in Highlands County which is known for being one of the highest elevated cities in Central Florida.
Being from Southern California, when I think of high elevation, Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains comes to mind heralding an elevation of around 10,000 feet above sea level. Later, when I looked up the elevation of Avon Park, I discovered it was a whopping 150 feet above sea level.
My point of reference for high elevation is around 10,000 feet so I would have never considered 150 feet being high. Sometimes we can have an idea in our mind about something that does not match our expectations.
After the wedding I was on a podcast call with a local orthopedic surgeon who specializes in knee replacements. He was mentioning that occasionally patients come into his office with the expectation to get knee surgery to fix their problem and are surprised to discover the pain is not coming from their knee but from another source, like their hip.
He also mentioned that if he does do a knee replacement, some patients expect to do nothing but wait for the surgery to happen and are surprised when he starts them on a course of PT BEFORE surgery to strengthen the knee area, so they have a better outcome.
I loved what this surgeon had to say as he had innovative methods and thoughts to relieving knee pain but we also talked about the reality of doing everything to the best of our ability and the patient still has pain.
Both conventional and unconventional methods have their successes and failures.
The reality is that sometimes our outcomes don't match our expectations for our health challenges.
We all can learn & grow in understanding how we can improve our health - both doctors and patients alike. The body is so incredibly complex and intricately made that we could never plumb the depth of understanding how it works.
Just as there are fish and creatures in the ocean that have yet to be discovered, there is still much to learn about the human body. This is why doctors have a practice and not a perfect as we are all in the process of learning.
If you expect to overcome a health challenge through a certain method but it falls short, be willing to try an alternative pathway.
If expectations don't turn out the way you want them to, don't give up but go back to the drawing board and be open to doing things differently if you want to achieve a different outcome. Don't be limited by your unmet expectations but have the mindset to grow and learn for the better.
Remember your health affects everything you do and everyone you know. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
- Dr. Derek 'flatlander' Taylor
P.S.
Patient Appreciation Day is this Monday, Dec 19, 2022.
There is still space for you. All patients scheduled that day to receive a Freshly Baked, All-Natural Christmas Pie with their scheduled appointment, and all new patients scheduled that day to receive a $47.00 new patient exam which includes a Robotic Chair Massage, Theralight 360 Session, First Adjustment, and Christmas pie. All proceeds for new patient visits go to our Hurricane Ian Relief Fund.
