Pain, Doctors, Attentiveness, etc.

[fierceawakening]

A great post from Amanda/ballastexistenz (aren't they all?) on PWDs' responses to physical pain being interpreted by medical professionals as noncompliance and disrespect:

I was in a lot of pain. By a lot of pain, I mean I was crying and periodically screaming. I don’t cry from pain usually. I didn’t cry when my gallbladder was well into emergency

Comments

[wrin]

Being an attendant at births, I must say that the screaming-woman thing does tend to irritate me, but for a different reason than you'd think. The big part of it is that in order to push effectively, you HAVE TO HOLD YOUR BREATH. Screaming is NOT holding your breath -- therefore she's doing nothing by screaming but prolonging the pain. However, I would never tell a woman she's being disrespectful by screaming -- I would tell her, instead, as I do, that her breath is her power and she needs to hold it in to get the job done.

[ruth_lawrence]

Being a Scene person, I'm now totally done with those who feel entitled to respect they have not earned, are not worthy of, and seek to gain from those who are seen as one-down.

Certainly this sort of thing happened to me in the past, being disabled, queer, female, poor etc etc, but now I'm onto their game.

I'm gonna call them on it.