Last Updated Jul 2011
I first noticed the tremor while working out. When I pushed the weights over my head, my right arm would begin to shake. As the months progressed, the frequency increased. I resolved not to let a few cast iron plates riding dumbly up and down the weight machine get the best of me.
But the tremors got worse instead of better, and it was only a matter of time before I was hopping on one foot in my underwear in front of a doctor that I thought was more kinky than smart. He had me draw an expanding spiral on a bright yellow legal pad that started out rather nicely, but as soon as the tremor set in, the spiral looked more like it had been drawn by a drunk than a pilot.
“Scott, you have Parkinson.”
Swell. Since that moment, I have yet to find the courage to look up the expected prognosis. Buns (my wife) and I just hope that a cure is on the way.
“Pops?” It was the blue-eyed Princess (my daughter) looking at me from across the dinner table. “What’s this?”, as she shook her fork imitating me but not mocking. At six she had yet to acquire the word “tremor” and, as far as I am concerned, I hope it is a part of her vocabulary she never needs.
“Oh, Princess, Pops is just getting a little older and I’m just a little shaky.”
“Well,” she was being so sweetly, matter-of-fact, “You should get that fixed.”
Expectations. When you are six and living in America, you expect that anything is possible.
Hopeful may be a good description of my generation, but it certainly doesn’t describe the young people of today. These are kids who expect technology to solve every problem. Want to stay a little longer at the mall? Use the cell phone to call Mom. My generation went in search of a pay phone and if we didn’t have the dime, we hiked our happy butts home. Kids today are not expecting to walk anywhere.
Hungry? Well, there’s a microwave pizza in the freezer and fruit yogurt in the fridge.
Curious? God forbid we didn’t have the internet, text messaging, and e-mail.
Is this all bad? No, it’s just different. And if you are over forty, it might be time to wake up and discover how much technology has impacted our expectations.
We have instant mail, fast food, overnight delivery, microwave everything, and our telephones are right in our hands, if they aren’t hanging from our ears. Guess what kind of service today’s customer expects (not merely, wants)? They expect it now, they expect it their way, thank-you.
Expectations, like my daughter expecting me to get my Parkinson fixed, are changing or have already changed, thanks to technology. When you deal with a patient, you're dealing with a unique set of expectations. Find out what they are.
About the Author: T. Scott Gross is the author of 12 fun-to-read books, including The Service Perscription: Healthcare the Way It was Meant to Be!, which is based in part on Scott's first book and most requested keynote, Positively Outrageous Service! The Service Prescription, co-authored with NurseTogether contributor Karyn Buxman RN MSN and Greg Ayers DMD, offers step-by-step guidelines for building healthcare practices that deliver in true POS style. Visit www.tscottgross.com.