Have you been putting off visiting your parents?
By Dr. Kevin Pallis
As DCs we certainly can get busy, especially with kids’ activities, sports events, recitals, what have you. Where does the time go? We look so forward to the weekend, but it’s sometimes more hectic than our regular practice week. Many of us see “people in need” or “acute patients” over the weekends as well as all of our family pursuits.
Sometimes we put off things that are really important to us, but they somehow get displaced by more pressing needs–or so we think they are. Visiting your parents (especially if they are in your geographic area) is one of those important things that often gets brushed off to the side.
A lot of times we feel that family is the most important, but also the most understanding when it comes to getting together and the reasons that we can’t. But when you don’t make it to a get-together, boy does the GUILT kick in. However, when you make the effort to get there and visit, it sure makes you feel great and even energized. After all, you’re honoring perhaps your greatest relationship. The feeling is sometimes like you used to feel after you had a great work out or went to church.
So many activities and the day-to-day, organized chaos we call life can get in the way, especially when you have kids. It’s important to set aside time to visit your parents–not just for holidays.
When I’m visiting with my parents, who are both in their 80s, they often ask me, “What is the difference with the DCs you mentor and other non-TNR DCs? They have the same degree and training, so aren’t they all the same?” It’s fairly easy to explain what we do day to day, but it’s not until an individual experiences TNR for themselves that they are truly able to understand it.
During our most recent visit, my mother had a great story about a technician who went the extra mile. One of their friends (also elderly) lost their heat and electricity in a snow storm last year and called for help. The technicians were there within the hour. When they arrived, they found the elderly couple in the driveway attempting to shovel deep, wet snow.
The technicians immediately got out of their vehicle and told them to go wait inside the warm truck or to go back in the house and pile up on blankets until they fixed the technical problems. They then shoveled the driveway for them, and proceeded to restore their power and got their furnace working again. They even called them later that evening to check up on them. Needless to say, the couple was overjoyed by the compassion of these technicians, who greatly exceeded their expectations.
My mother who has a keen wit said, “Does your group (TNR) have any electricity or furnace technicians?” She got the distinction of people who go the extra mile. In TNR we call our members the once-in-a-lifetime DCs.
