Giving Hope
Have you ever found yourself regretting something? Something you said, or something you thought, or something you actually did?
Are you a member of the human race? If so, of course, you have regrets. I thought today I should share one of mine from 2016. It’s one that seriously messes with me because it affects someone else, and their entire family.
Over the past several years I have been blessed to help people heal from neuropathy. Our track record is amazingly good. So good in fact that when someone doesn’t respond very quickly to care, I’m surprised. I expect to see some nice changes in the first seven weeks, and I can even lose sight of the fact that we are healing nerves – incredibly slow to heal and grow.
Starting back from peripheral neuropathy is a long road, and in some cases, things can take a lot longer than seven weeks. It’s kind of like expecting someone’s arm to grow back in seven weeks. It’s not going to happen.
Lost Hope
I had a patient last winter. Let’s call him Al. He was a wonderful man, in his 80’s with neuropathy. Over the years Al had tried all the usual stuff, drugs (Gabapentin and Lyrica), herbs, electric shocks to the feet, insoles, and several of the online treatments with no help. When we tested his feet his score was VERY low – Al’s neuropathy was severe.
The burning tingling pain was more than he could stand. He needed help. He needed hope.
I told him we’d get started, but he should expect this to take a minimum of 18 months. (That’s pretty much what I tell everyone – because it’s true – 18 months will give everyone a good start) We started care, and did a retest of his feet at 4 weeks, and then 7 weeks.
I think it’s because I felt a real affinity for Al and his family (and so did our whole team) that we were disappointed to not see much of a change after the initial intensive seven weeks. Now I KNOW that expecting that change is unrealistic, but as I said, we do see it often. In his case, we didn’t. I explained his next steps going forward, and that it was going to take time.
That’s not what Al heard. It’s not what his wife heard. What I managed to do was convey my disappointment that he wasn’t much better yet. They took it as a sign that there was no hope for him. What they heard me say “well we could TRY to keep going”.
Al didn’t keep going. He stopped care.
A few months later I received a letter from Al’s daughter saying he had now lost hope and was sinking into depression. I called and talked to him, and tried to explain the miscommunication, but he still felt there was nothing we could do. For him, it was all over.
I had given him hope and then taken it all away. Talk about dropping the ball.
Reality – There IS hope!
Now I know that expecting someone in their 80’s with advanced neuropathy to heal in 7 weeks is incredibly unrealistic. I was so focused on the change I wanted to see, that I missed the point of the whole exercise. Hope. I know nerves heal. I know his nerves could heal given enough time. Because I focused on the short term, he didn’t even engage in long-term healing.
Your nerves CAN heal. Will you see a change in only 7 weeks? Many people do. Not everyone though. If you aren’t better after 7 weeks, be of good cheer. Keep at work. This is neuropathy, so you’re in this for the long haul. You’ll get there.
Are you tired of slowly getting worse? Ready to turn it around? Grab a copy of 3 Neuropathy Relief Tips. I’ll be sure to invite you to the free live training on the Neuropathy Solution.
What is the one thing you look forward to doing again when you heal your peripheral neuropathy? Leave a comment below!
Connect with us!