Since moving last month, I now live not far from Orlando. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the tragic and horrible events that have surrounded this city during the past ten days. From the killing of a promising young singer, to the mass murder of 49 young people, to a toddler’s death by alligator. I didn’t directly know anyone involved, but I can certainly speak to the pall that has been cast. The horror, followed by the myriad resulting emotions – sadness, dread, apprehension, and certainly the anger…
Contrasted with those events, this week my inbox featured two testimonials for APHA members.
Now – keep in mind that I receive testimonials frequently. Not a week goes by that I don’t get a submission from a member’s client that speaks in very positive and often glowing terms about how that advocate helped the submitter. It’s one of my favorite parts of my work.
But this week, receiving those good words affected me very differently. It was like the heavens opened and the angels began to sing! Because this week, the very good and beautiful words written about those advocates who have changed lives in very positive ways was a counterbalance to the very bad and ugly.
It’s true. We, as advocates, effect a world of good!
You, too, may be living under this same pall of horror, sadness and anger. So I’m going to post below some of the recent comments received on behalf of some of our members (which were then posted to the profile of the advocate who earned them.*)
I hope some of these words will lift you up, too. I hope your takeaway is that your clients appreciate you, too! That for every horror in the world, there are dozens, hundreds or thousands of beautiful and good things being done for our fellow humans that don’t make the news. And that we, as advocates, are on the front lines of that good – saving lives, improving quality of life and financial security every day.
Balance is always good. And we, as the promoters of the good, deserve at least that.
Patience, Love, and Compassion are only three of the thousands of words to describe how Teresa’s clients, co-workers and friends feel about her. She is truly an inspiration and touches everyone she meets.
I can’t recommend Rick highly enough! He was professional, compassionate, caring, supportive, listened to my needs, talked me down when I needed it, never let me lose hope, and was all I could have asked for in an advocate.
Mary Anne provided a great mix of services as we made a hard medical decision. Her sensitive, timely skills at helping us talk through options were wonderfully clarifying and supportive. She sorted through and guided us to appropriate medical materials in a very timely way, attended visits and/or helped us get the most of them.
Kenneth saved me over twenty-eight thousand dollars and for that I am very grateful. I bought insurance from my employer that qualified under the Affordable Care Act’s Individual Mandate assuming that it was reasonable coverage but it only paid for a small fraction of my hospital bill. Kenneth demanded that the Hospital reduce their sky-high charges and through diligence and persistence he got me a significant reduction. I was very impressed with his knowledge and professionalism.
How do ordinary mortals begin to do this?! Ill with fourth stage cancer and minimal eyesight due to glaucoma, we desperately needed to activate the long term health insurance we had been donating hefty monthly sums to for years. It could not have been done without the advocacy of Eileen Hilton from Crown Care. She fought tooth and nail for us, through the labyrinthian path of medical verifications, roadblocks and inanities put forward by the insurer. She went to bat and hit a home run for us, not only activating the monthly payout from the insurer but also stopping the automatic premium requirement. A huge mahalo to Eileen.
As we listen to the news, as we try to make sense of the terrible events around us, we need to keep these good words in our hearts. They may not have been written about you, but the people you help feel the same way, and will live better lives because of your efforts.
Despite these random and horrible events, the world is still a better place because YOU are in it.
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*Don’t forget that if you are listed in the AdvoConnection Directory, then your clients are also invited to submit their endorsements of your work. Learn how to make that happen.
LEARN ABOUT APHA MEMBERSHIP | FIND MORE REASONS PATIENTS NEED ADVOCATES
This week we spotlight Bridget Krueger, from
KaleidoCare in Madison, Wisconsin
