Mission Invincible: Meet the Editors

Alone we can accomplish so little, with a partner we can accomplish so much and with a team our  accomplishments are boundless.  

Without our editorial team our InvincibleWeAre initiative is incomplete. 

So today we would like to introduce a few of our very dedicated and motivated new editors to the team. While we cannot introduce all of them here today, we recognize the behind-the-scenes efforts our editors have put into every post you will read in the future. Simply put, they are the much needed heart to our mission. Below we present to you a few anonymous introductions from the editors themselves and what keeps them motivated!

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"After a summer of qualitative research on patients’ illness experiences, I knew I wanted to find an outlet to continue amplifying patient voices. When I heard that the InvincibleWeAre team was looking for volunteer editors, I had to join the team!" ~R.S

"Throughout my professional and personal life, I have learned that teamwork in a healthcare setting is crucial, and that the most important part of that team is always the patient. Every time I meet a patient, I make an effort to understand them as a whole person, and to advocate for their care to be tailored to their individual needs, preferences, and values. Patients are so much more than the sum of their medical conditions. After hearing about the InvincibleWeAre team reinforcing the importance of patient-centered care by creating a space for patients to share their stories, I knew that this was a team I wanted to be a part of. In addition to believing in the principles of this group, I am also happy to be able to learn from these patient voices by reading their stories as an editor!" ~M.S.

"I joined the InvincibleWeAre team to listen to, learn from, and help amplify patient voices. It is fascinating to me how everyone – strangers, passers-by, patients in hospital lobby waiting rooms or beds – has a story that is as complex and vivid to them as mine is to me. And as a future healthcare provider, I realize that eliciting patient narratives is requisite for practicing individualized, compassionate, and holistic medicine, and beyond that, for connecting with patients, one human to another. I am grateful to the patients willing to share their stories – their experiences, their triumphs, and their pain – and hope that InvincibleWeAre makes them feel seen and heard. Undoubtedly, their voices are a source of strength for those with similar stories and insight for care providers on the other side of the hospital bed." ~N.D.

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Together with this growing InvincibleWeAre team we are eager to keep you engaged with more anonymous personal stories and reflective pieces.

Nothing Can Stop Me: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

You must remember our previous story on Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus - this next anonymous submission is a story about Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. While these two conditions share similarities in the pathophysiology, they are two vastly different entities with regards to patients' lived experiences. 

Type 2 Diabetes is caused by complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Similar to Type 1, this disease have everything to do with that pesky little molecule, insulin. Insulin is a key player in managing our blood sugar levels in a narrow range. A few extra molecules of sugar, in the form of glucose in the blood can be catastrophic for an individual, so insulin plays a very critical role. Without insulin, imagine the body like a ticking bomb, where just one extra molecule of sugar and life's on the line. In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, cells in the body become "insulin resistant" meaning they are no longer able to respond to insulin in order to remove sugars from the blood stream. Without any effective method to remove circulating sugars from the bloodstream, every meal adds to the sugar levels. This has dramatic effects on every system in the body, including those involved with the kidney, brain and heart. Staying healthy becomes a daily task almost comparable to needing to think about taking every breath rather tan breathing automatically. 

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"I immigrated to Canada at a time when everything was going well back home, but we wanted a new opportunity. Before setting foot in Canada, I had not imagined the emotional, physical, and family stresses of being a new immigrant. At that time I was vaguely aware of my diagnosis of high blood pressure and diabetes. However, with the burden of work and adjusting to a new country, my health was the least of my priorities. I would work 20 hour days to make ends meet. With a hectic schedule, regular exercise was a struggle. My health began to deteriorate. 

One year after immigrating I was officially diagnosed with diabetes and started on medications. With work stress still looming above my head, earning for my family was my top priority and my body was the lowest on my list. So once again, health took a backseat. On top of this, the medications I had been prescribed were just not suited for my body. They were making me gain weight; nothing I would do could bring the numbers on the weigh scale lower. 

With my BMI creeping above 35 and added thyroid and cholesterol complications, I was recommended to get gastric sleeve surgery. Oh, it made the difference I was looking for but only for about 2 years. During this time, moving to a new place and starting a new job brought me back to the beginning with increased work stress and little time to maintain the good habits I had managed to develop over the last few years. 

With as many diagnoses as I have and with no end in sight, because that's what Diabetes does to you, it is inevitable that these conditions can push you down physically and mentally into some darkroom. But I am thankful and so grateful for my biggest tool in the toolbox that has kept me strong mentally through all these winding roads of life. After all "a strong mind can carry a weak body, but only having a strong body cannot carry a weak mind". The Art of Living Stress Management program provided me with the perfect combination of meditation and yoga to get above the negativities that were keeping me pinned down. With the Sudarshan Kriya my mind was no longer in constant fear of what next disease my diabetes would make me prone to. 

I truly believe that building inner strength and having faith that there is a higher power taking care of you is so important to overcoming obstacles with a smile. Meditation offered me that boost of inner strength that I was longing for but could not find anywhere else. 

I know whatever has happened in the past cannot be changed. It was bound to happen with all the factors at play in life, but I know I can improve the future. I have started to find balance and have raised physical health higher on my priority list. Scheduling ongoing pickle-ball games, going for walks, and being considerate of my diet have all become more important for me. Above all, after experiencing the side effects of medications, I took my health in my own hands and searched out alternative ways for healthy recovery. I believe that while medication has it's strengths, it is not the end-all be-all. Without lifestyle, mental wellness and nutritional changes it is impossible to obtain true recovery one would aim for. Medications just cannot help you unless you first help yourself!! That has become my motto, and over the years I have read through various research articles, visited homeopathic and Ayurvedic doctors, all in an attempt to understand myself and how my body works.

When people see all the conditions I have they ask "How do you smile?"; "It's not impossible" I say. 

                                                                                    - Anonymous