If we become involved with the legal system, we know lawyers can
advocate, or speak, for us. The French word for lawyer is Avocat.

What if we develop an illness or injury? There is no comparable person
to call. The system tends to move you from one provider to another.
Each may know their area well, but there is no guarantee they will talk
with each other or with you. Most excellent primary care physicians
cannot ensure the system gets you the care you need, when you need it,
from people who will work with you to establish goals and monitor
how well they are achieved.

Learn advocacy skills and represent yourself. You can organize your
thoughts, record symptoms and other useful information in a clear,
permanent form, speak and write effectively, and form long-standing
relationships with doctors and other healthcare providers who will be
your team as long as you need one. You can learn the details of your
insurance system to make it works for you.

The same skills can be applied to advocate for your children, even your
pets. You can help other adults, but your position is different: You are
not the patient. It is not your body and you are not the decision-maker.
However, you can lighten the burden the patient carries and help
safeguard their interests.

I have seen advocacy skills save lives and prevent unneeded procedures
and complications from treatments.  Sadly, I learned my first advocacy
skills after I proved a poor patient, passive and accepting everything the
doctor said even when I knew he was wrong. And I was a doctor. I lost
five years after my head injury before I got angry enough to insist on a
second opinion; then I was diagnosed correctly and began effective
treatment.