I am a retired Board Certified American Orthotist, that has been living in the Philippines for the past 5 years. I have decided to sell my house, and move to Pattaya, where my son has a condo.
I have only been to Pattaya two time, on short vacations, but each time I was impressed with the friendlyness of the people. By just association with them, I feel like I would like to be more like them, rather than like the loud, agressive, dominant forginers that I see vacationing in Thailand. In America, I did not realize that there was such a vast differiance in the two cultures.
Where ever I have worked or lived in the past, I have found that my knowledge and experiance as a Orthotist, has been head and sholders above my peirs, and has been very helpful to the Doctors, in helping them attain the highest level treatment plan, for their patients.
This my seem like I am just a conceeded person that wants to blow his own horn, but i am just trying to give you some background on who I am, and how you can help me, help Diabetics in Thailand from ending up with a apputation, that could have been prevented.
Many times a Diabetic has had a partial foot amputation, or even lost their leg, because of complacations to their Diabetic condition. The Doctor needs a multidisciplinary team of specialist to attain the highest level of treatment care for their patients. Quite offen the knowledge and experiance of those people on the team, are the best avalable in the area, but not adequit to provide the highest level of treatment care. Sharing of knowledge of the specialist on the team, can help raise the level of knowledge of each person on the team, and the patient benifits with a higher level of treatment.
Diabetics usually end up with a apputation because of a Ulcer(open sore)on their foot or leg, because of Diabetic complication like Lack of normal sensation(Neuropathy), Blood flow(Dysvascular), Minor trama, etc.). Also because the skin tears with joint movement(flexion/extention), because the sweat and oil no longer keep the skin elastic and pliable(Autonomic Neuropathy). It is not unreasonable to reduce the number of apputations by 50%, with a good multidisaplanary team. Infact there was a hospital in San Diego, California, USA that reduced their annual Diabetic apputations by over 90%.
That is all very interesting, but why am I writting this as a Blog? I am hoping to motivate Readers, Patients, Doctors, into voicing their support to modivate Doctors and Hospitals to think more towards preventing the problem in the first place. By treating the condition before it becomes a problem, rather than apputation of the problem.
Talk to your diadetic friends and relatives, and ask them to support more prevention in their treatment plan, by asking their Doctors, nurses, etc., about how the Multidisciplinary team approach to the Diabetic treatment plan can help them maintain the quality of life that they should have.
When you get a team of experts working together, pooling their knowledge and their energy toward a comon goal—Miracles happen!! That miracle is prevention. For the pinnacle of a physicians art is not treatment of the problem, it is to prevent the condition from becoming a problem, in the first place.
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