Hospitals and the Deaf Patient - Part 2

In Part 1, I mention in the last paragraph:

"In this day of high tech and the Internet, there's no excuse for anyone to claim it's difficult to contact the deaf person when there's also email, texting, and instant messaging besides the relay. A little low tech like keeping paper and pen around goes a long way as well."

When I had home health care, rather than use the relay to play phone tag with each other, we used texting. It's worked so well that I could easily refer back to the texts as a reminder or the physical therapist could easily change a session date and time. I'd also be in contact with the supervisor/office manager when it came to signing paperwork and evaluations.

Also after the third surgery, I got emails from the doctor's office a few times telling me of a change in medication dosage. This allowed me to better acknowledge I got the email and would act on the dosage change.

I've kept copies of my xrays from the knee surgeries and from the three hip surgeries, which also makes it easier for me to pass on what I have to another doctor. The hip surgeon's office has a patient portal which allows me to watch for upcoming bill payments, make a payment, make an appointment online, med refills, and other things.

On a more lighthearted note, the physical therapist and I used "markers" from torn postcards to show how many laps I did in the walking exercises (Surgery and the Hips - Part 5). Now and then one of us will lose track of how many laps I've done.